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Sandpaper

Jason Taylor • August 28, 2024

Sandpaper is produced in a range of grit sizes and is used to remove material from surfaces, whether to make them smoother (for example, in painting and wood finishing), to remove a layer of material (such as old paint), or sometimes to make the surface rougher (for example, as a preparation for gluing).

Choosing the right sandpaper for your project starts with understanding grit numbers. Each number represents the sandpaper's coarseness, with lower numbers being coarser and higher numbers being finer. Coarser sandpaper sands material more aggressively than finer sandpaper.

Sandpaper Grit Vs. Sandpaper Grade

So what is the difference between sandpaper grit and sandpaper grade? Sandpaper grit is a number rating based on the manufacturing process, such as 80, 120, and 220, while sandpaper grade is a general class of sandpaper coarseness, including coarse, fine, very fine, and extra fine. Each sandpaper grade consists of a range of grits.

Sandpaper Grits and Their Purposes

SANDPAPER GRIT	GRADE	PURPOSE
LESS THAN 40	Extra-Coarse	Refinishing floors and stripping old finishes
40 TO 60	Coarse	Smoothing rough material and shaping wood
80	Medium	Stripping paint, blending joint seams, and rounding sharp edges and corners
100 TO 120	Fine	General sanding, surface prep for painting and film finishes
150 TO 220	Very-Fine	Scuffing glossy surfaces, removing rust from metal, surface prep for penetrating oils
320 TO 360	Extra-Fine	Sanding between finish coats, cleaning metal surfaces
400 TO 600	Super-Fine	Polishing wood and metal, sanding between finish coats, wet sanding (when waterproof)
800 AND UP	Ultra-Fine	Polishing wood and metal, sanding after final finish coats, wet sanding (when waterproof)