Sandpaper Grit Chart: Which Grit for Which Job

The grit number is how many holes per inch the sieve had that sorted the abrasive grains. More holes means smaller grains, so a higher number means finer sandpaper. 40 grit strips paint off a deck; 2000 grit polishes car paint.

Sandpaper grit chart

Grit (US)	Grade	Use it for
24–36	Extra coarse	Stripping old finish, floor sanders, heavy shaping
40–60	Coarse	Removing paint and varnish, rough lumber, rust
80–100	Medium	Smoothing wood, removing marks and planer ridges
120	Medium	Prep before finer grits; drywall joint compound
150–180	Fine	Final sanding of bare wood before stain
220–240	Very fine	Final sanding before paint or clear finish; between coats
320–400	Extra fine	Between finish coats, scuffing paint before recoating
600–800	Super fine	Wet sanding finishes, plastics, metal
1000–3000	Ultra fine	Wet sanding car paint, polishing, headlight restoration

Grits for common jobs

Job	Grits, in order
Refinishing a wood floor	36 or 40 → 60 → 100
New furniture, before stain	100 → 120 → 150 (or 180)
New furniture, before paint	120 → 180 → 220
Between coats of polyurethane	220 to 320, lightly by hand
Drywall joint compound	120 to 150 (sanding screen or sponge)
Removing rust from metal	60 to 80, then 120 to 150
Scuffing a painted surface before repainting	180 to 220
Car paint, before polishing	Wet: 1500 → 2000 → 3000
Restoring cloudy headlights	Wet: 800 → 1500 → 2000 → 3000, then polish

Don’t skip more than one grit. Each paper only needs to remove the scratches of the one before it. If you jump from 60 to 220, the 60-grit scratches stay hidden until the stain or finish brings them out.

CAMI vs FEPA (P) grit sizes

US sandpaper is graded by CAMI; European and many imported papers use FEPA, marked with a P. They match up to about 220, then split, because the two systems measure the grains differently.

FEPA grit	Average grain size	About the same as CAMI
P60	269 µm	60
P80	201 µm	80
P100	162 µm	100
P120	125 µm	120
P150	100 µm	150
P180	82 µm	180
P220	68 µm	220
P280	52 µm	240
P400	35 µm	320
P500	30 µm	360
P600	26 µm	400 (P600 to P800)
P1000	18 µm	500
P1200	15 µm	600
P1500	13 µm	800
P2000	10 µm	1000

A micron (µm) is a thousandth of a millimeter, so even the coarse P60 grains are only about a quarter of a millimeter across. The grain sizes are the FEPA averages (ISO 6344); CAMI equivalents are approximate.

Types of abrasive

• Aluminum oxide (tan, brown or red): the all-round choice for wood and metal, and the abrasive in most power sander discs.
• Silicon carbide (dark gray or black): sharper and works wet, so it’s the one for wet sanding paint, plastic, glass and stone.
• Garnet (orange-red): a natural, softer abrasive that wears quickly but leaves a fine finish on bare wood.
• Ceramic (often purple or blue): very hard and long-lasting, for heavy removal like floors and shaping.

Sanding tips

• Sand with the grain on wood, especially at the final grit. Cross-grain scratches show up under stain.
• Let the grit do the work. Pressing harder clogs the paper and makes swirl marks with a power sander.
• Wipe or vacuum dust between grits, or a loose coarse grain can scratch the surface again.
• Change the paper when it stops cutting: a worn 120 behaves like a 180 but much slower.

More DIY charts: plywood thickness · lumber sizes · nail sizes · screw and bolt sizes · drill bit sizes.