faux wood stair rail job

Hi all - our stair railings are a dated honey color and we redid our hardwood floors to a mocha color. Various neighbors with similar houses have done different things to get their stair rails to match the floor - one was a faux paint job vs. sanding/restaining. It looks great - you can't even notice it's not stain.

My question is - the poly on my stair rails and railings is pretty thick. Asking around, most would say to <painstakingly> sand it all down (there's TONS of little angles, round areas, etc.) - then restain.

Instead - could I somehow rough it up with sandpaper/steel wool, then apply some paint job over it that looks like stain...AKA "faux" wood? Or, apply some paint or stain over what I have so the grain shows through but I don't need to totally sand it down?