A Complete Guide to Sandpaper Grit Classification:

The sandpaper grit refers to the size of the abrasive materials on the sandpaper
. Various standards exist to ascertain sandpaper grit size. Common standards inc
lude the CAMI or Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute and the FEPA or Federat
ion of European Producers of Abrasives. The lower the number of the sandpaper gr
it, the coarser the grit grade will be.
Macro Grits
The sandpaper grit at the macro grit levels range across the following sub-types
:
Extra Coarse: These are very coarse types of sandpaper grit and ensure expedited
removal of all kinds of material as well as the initial sanding on hardwood flo
oring. As per the FEPA standards, the sandpaper grit sizing is denoted by P30, P
36, P12, P16 etc, while the CAMI standards denote the classes as 24, 30 or 36. T
he average diameter of the sandpaper grit particles can range anywhere between 5
30 to 1815 micrometers.
Coarse: These types of sandpaper grit classes ensure rapid material removal. As
per FEPA standards, these are classified as P40 or P50 and as per CAMI standards
, are denoted as 40, 50 or 60. The typical diameter of the sandpaper grit ranges
between 336 to 425 micrometers.
Medium: These kinds of sandpaper grit are used to sand bare wood to prepare it f
or varnish removal or final finishing. The FEPA standards denote such types of s
andpaper grit by P60 or P80 and CAMI standards denote it as 80. The diameter of
the particles ranges between 190 to 265 micrometers.
Fine: These kinds of sandpaper grit are used to prepare wood for the finishing.
Such sandpaper grit types are not suited for varnish removal or removing paint o
n wood. These can also be used to clean plaster as well as water stains present
on wood. The FEPA standards denote such sandpaper grit types as P100 or P120 whi
le CAMI standards denote them as 100 and 120. The diameter size of the particles
ranges between 115 and 162 micrometers.
Very Fine: These kinds of sandpaper grit are used for sanding over bare wood. As
per FEPA standards, such sandpaper grit are denoted by P150, P180, P220 while C
AMI standards denote them as 150, 180 or 220. The diameter of the particles rang
es between 66 to 100 micrometers.
Micro Grits

The micro grit types of sandpaper grit are classified as follows:

Very Fine: Used for sanding finishes in between consecutive coats. FEPA classifi
cations are P240, P280, P320 or P360 while CAMI classifications are denoted as 2
40. The diameter size is between 40.5 to 58.5 micrometers.
Extra Fine: Used to initiate wood polishing. FEPA standards classify these types
of sandpaper grit as P400, P500 or P600 while CAMI classifies them as 360 or 32
0 and diameter sizes range between 25.8 to 36.0 micrometers.

Super Fine: Used to sand final finish on the wood. FEPA classifies them as P800,
P1000 or P1200 while CAMI classifies them as 400, 500 or 600 and average diamet
er sizes range from 15.3 to 23.0 micrometers.
Ultra Fine: Used for polishing thick finishes and performing final sanding. FEPA
classifies them as P1500, P2000 or P2500 while CAMI classifies these as 800 or
1000 and average diameter size of particles ranges between 8.4 to 12.6 micromete
rs.
One thing to ensure when using sandpaper is that the bond between sandpaper grit
and backing material is not separated during usage.

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