I started sanding the hatch covers and exterior of the deck last night. Right away, I ditched the 1/4 sheet palm sander for a hard rubber block (to hold strips of sandpaper) and lots of elbow grease. I noticed the power sander left some marks on the wood and didn't like that.

The hand block works very well and I actually enjoy using it more than I do moving the heavy palm sander and listening to the loud noise. But I would still like to be able to use the tool if I can avoid the weird gouges.

Is there a special way to use it to avoid the gouges? Or is this just unavoidable with a (nonrandom-orbital) sander?