Very happy with the handrail we received. The wood & brackets were both lovely quality. There were a few parts that weren't totally smooth but we wanted the wood to look natural so we didn't sand them, if you were going to coat/varnish you would need to I imagine. It wasn't too difficult to put up for us DIY amateurs and still looks great even though I'm sure we didn't get it totally straight! The delivery came quickly, though just be aware that we received no notification that delivery would be coming on any particular day so make sure you're going to be in all day until you receive it! Overall very pleased, the hand rail looks great.