Gotta disagree hard here. In my experience, that spotty color issue with cast iron is usually from rushing the preheat or using too much oil, not the pan itself. Stainless will give you a more even crust on paper but it sticks like crazy unless you nail the temp and technique every single time. Cast iron might need a bit more care on cleanup but once you get the seasoning right it's basically non-stick and you can scrape stuff off without ruining it. Stainless is a nightmare when you're busy because if something sticks its game over for that batch. Take this with a grain of salt but I've seen way more wrecked stainless pans in busy kitchens than beat up cast iron.

Sand that much and you're just burning through clear coat for no good reason. Watched a buddy spend days wet sanding a garage queen only to have it fade unevenly after two summers because he went too thin. Meanwhile I did a quick two coat job with no sanding between and its still holding up fine three years later. Gloss wet is just vanity, real win is durability.

Lol yeah that's basically what I do too. I swear some of these coffee nerds act like they're running a science lab instead of making a morning cup. I once watched a guy time his pour over with a stopwatch and weigh every single bean. Like bro it's 6am just drink it. But hey whatever makes them happy right? As long as it tastes good I'm not gonna stress over 2 degrees of water temp.

You ever get that weird ghost vibration feeling in your arm after using a track anvil?

Hate to be the contrary voice here but @margaret_williams5, a shop vac with a good dust deputy and a fine filter works fine for most stuff. I did a whole set of kitchen cabinets on a portable router table with just a Rigid vac and it was manageable. Unless you're breathing mdf all day the cloud isn't that bad if you aim the blast gate right. Overkill for hobbyists.