Sandpaper grades

Welcome,

I have been asked "What make and type of sandpaper do I prefer to use".

Well, here is my answer.

Firstly the choice of sandpaper is very important, as it makes the difference between a good quality finish and a substandard finish.

One good tip that I can give you, is don't buy cheap sandpaper as it will not last long and give you a very poor finish.

My choice on manufacture is Sialac paper (Grey in colour) and this product is made in Switzerland, and can be purchased from Morrells wood finishes Ltd. 
I expect that you could purchase this product in other good wood finishing suppliers.

I only buy two grades of sandpaper first grade P180 and secondly grade P150.

Sandpaper grades are graded by numbers the higher the number the finer the grade.

For heavy duty sanding on very rough solid surfaces, I use grade 80 this comes on a roll and can be purchased from any DIY shops and in a variety of grades.

The brand name is: Mirka, and comes on a roll and therefore, suitable for using on sanding machines as you can cut to length.

It is easy to identify as the paper is yellow in colour.

A variety of grades:

Coarse               40 Grit 

Coarse               60 

Rough                80 my choice for most timbers 

Medium            120

Fine                  180 

Extra Fine         240

Now for very fine finishing work i.e. Smoothing down in between French polishing or lacquer coats, I use a special paper called Wet & Dry this is coloured black, and as the name suggests, is used with water or as I prefer to use white spirits.

Grades of Wet & Dry paper range from:

Coarse             120

                        180

Medium           240

                        320

Fine                 400

Very fine          600

Super fine      1200

Once again I hope that this has been of help to you?  If it has, please give me feedback.

Thanks for reading.