What is A Sanding Disc?

The sanding disc is a circular abrasive disc that is attached to power sanders or other tools to remove material, light defects, corrosion, paint, and rust from wood, metal, and plastic surfaces. The hook and loop sanding discs and PSA abrasive discs are commonly used and come with different grits, holes, coated grains, backings, and colors. Fastplus is constantly adding more sanding discs into product lines, below is a short buying guide of our sanding discs to help buy the right one for your work.

What are the Types of Sanding Discs?

The sanding discs can be divided into 2 types from the mounting features: One is the hook and loop (velcro) sanding discs, and the other is quick change and PSA/adhesive-backed abrasive discs.

Hook & Loop Sanding Discs: Backed with hook and loop (velcro) system, which allows sanding discs can be attached firmly and removed quickly for better efficiency.
Standard sizes: 125mm, 150mm / 5”, 6”
Holes/ Perforation: No hole, 6/8/9/15/17/multi-holes
Abrasive types: Aluminum oxide, Zirconia alumina, Ceramic
Coating Types: Open coat, semi-open coat, closed coat
Compatible tools: Random orbital sanders, disc sanders or handheld rotary tools.
Common uses: Sanding wood, fiberglass, metal, paint and plastic surfaces

PSA Sanding Discs: Backed with Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA), this kind of self-adhesive abrasive disc can be mounted to the sanding tools easily and quickly. PSA discs are generally made with cloth or paper backing, cloth backed sanding discs are used for heavy-duty sanding, and paper-backed PSA discs are featured as more affordable and lightweight and used for light sanding tasks.
Standard sizes: 125mm, 150mm / 5”, 6”
Holes/ Perforation: No hole
Abrasive Types: Aluminum oxide, Zirconia alumina, Ceramic
Coating Types: semi-open coat, closed coat
Compatible tools: Random orbital sanders, disc sanders, bench sanders, platen disc sanders
Common uses: Grinding, Sanding and finishing of wood, fiberglass, metal, paint and plastic surfaces

Other types of discs: Film Sanding Discs, net/mesh abrasive discs, scuff discs and superfine sanding discs

How to Select the Right Size of Sandpaper Grit?

Distinguishing sandpaper grit sizes is important because not every project requires the same.
In the United States, grit is determined based on a gradation scale established by the Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute (CAMI). When shopping for sandpaper, you’ll see numbers such as 80-grit, 100-grit, or 200-grit. Keep in mind:

The higher the number, the smaller the grains and the finer the sandpaper grit.
And, conversely, lower numbers indicate larger grains and overall coarser sandpaper.

On the CAMI scale, sandpaper grit is measured in microns, and to get an idea of how small a micron is, check out a piece of 100-grit sandpaper. The small grains on the sandpaper measure approximately 141 microns in size, which is equivalent to .00550 of an inch. Very small.

Most sandpaper you buy at DIY centers and lumberyards will bear the CAMI scale, but if you order sandpaper online, you may run across sandpaper grit sized by the Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA). Grit sized with the FEPA scale is indicated by the letter “P” preceding the grit number. While there are too many grit gradations to list, if you’re buying FEPA-sized sandpaper, the following commonly used CAMI sizes will give you an idea of the corresponding FEPA sizes. FEPA sizes are not an identical match to CAMI sizes, but you can get something very close by selecting one of the two closest FEPA numbers.

40-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-36 or P-40
80-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-80 or F-100
100-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-100 or P-120
120-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-120 or P-150
220-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-180 or P-220
400-grit (CAMI) sandpaper corresponds closely to (FEPA) P-600 or P-800

Generally, the following can be a guide to select the right grit size of sanding discs or sandpapers:
P40 For removing thick layers of rust and lacquer.
P60 For pre-treating unprocessed surfaces.
P80 For correcting heavy areas of unevenness.
P120 For roughening before priming or pickling.
P180 For initial sanding after priming.
P240 For initial wet sanding after priming.
P400 For smoothing filled surfaces.
P600 For fine sanding before painting.
P1000 For final fine sanding before painting.
P1200 For final fine sanding before painting.
P2000 For final fine sanding before painting.

Different than conventional aluminium oxide or silicon carbide sanding sheets, Fastplus™ F15 Gold sanding strips or sanding sheets are made of premium ceramic alumina grain which is cutting faster, lasts longer, and is relatively cost-effective.
F15 Gold sanding strips are specially stearate coated to deliver high anti-clogging which are greatly optimized the sanding performances. Fastplus™ Gold sanding sheets come with 70x125mm and 8 perforated holes which are perfectly fit all standard eccentric sanders and hand sanding blocks with dust collection and manual sanding tools and suitable for high-speed sanding in multi-purpose applications.
The 70x125mm Gold sanding strips are used for sanding on materials: Body fillers, paint, lacquers, metal, ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal, stainless steel, composite, wood, granite, marble, glass, plastic, and PVC.

Buy 70x125mm Gold sanding strips

What is Film Abrasive Disc?
Film abrasives feature film backing construction (in contrast to conventional paper), finer mineral grains and anti-clogging stearate coating to provide better flexibility, crease & tear resistance and consistent surface finish than conventional abrasives.

The Applications of Film Abrasive Discs
Film abrasive is excellent for finishing primers, composite materials, wood, wood coatings, scratch-resistant clear coats, blend preparation of clears, removal of orange peel, denibbing paint and much more. Mist the surface with water for best performance.

How to Select Right Grit Size of Film Sanding Disc?
Generally, the following can be a guide to select the right grit size:
P80 For correcting heavy areas of unevenness.
P120 For roughening before priming or pickling.
P180 For initial sanding after priming.
P240 For initial wet sanding after priming.
P400 For smoothing filled surfaces.
P600 For fine sanding before painting.
P1000 For final fine sanding before painting.
P1200 For final fine sanding before painting.
P2000 For final fine sanding before painting.

Buy Fastplus Film Sanding Discs for your project.

The sanding sheet rolls are sandpapers that be made into sheet rolls, the roll can be torn into sheets along the kiss-cutting line. The abrasive sheet rolls can be perforated for the purpose of dust extraction for clogging resistance. The abrasive sheets are hook-and-loop or PSA backed for attached to pads or sanders easily which can be used with power tools and handheld sanders. The sanding sheet rolls are perfectly used in sanding on metal, paint, wood, and other applications.
Main Features:
• Durable and Long Lasting
• Hook-and-loop - easy to use
• Multi-holes for dust extraction
• Kiss-cutting for sizing easily
• Anti-clogging
• Various grits for different tasks
Materials can be used on:
• Metals
• Non-ferrous Metal
• Aluminum
• Stainless steel
• Steel
• Paint
• Plastic
• Wood
Tasks can be used for:
• Blending
• Light deburring
• Cleaning
• Removing rust
• Sanding lacquered wood
• Scuffing
• Paint removal
• Final preparation

Other Fastplus Sanding Rolls:
• PSA Sandpaper Roll
• Foam Sanding Pad Roll

What is Sandpaper?
Sandpaper is a type of coated abrasive that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with abrasive material glued to one face.
There are many varieties of sandpapers, with variations in the paper or backing, the material used for the grit, grit size, and the bond.

The Different Types of Sandpaper for Different Tasks
Buy the sandpaper that’s best for your project. Sandpaper comes in different materials. Each material works best with particular types of sanding.
Garnet - Commonly used in woodworking.
Emery - Commonly used to abrade or polish metals.
Aluminium oxide - The most common in modern use, with the widest variety of grits, the lowest unit cost; can be used on metal (i.e. body shops) or wood.
Silicon carbide - Available in very coarse grits all the way through to microgrits, common in wet applications.
Alumina-zirconia - (An aluminium oxide–zirconium oxide alloy), is used for machine grinding applications.
Chromium(III) oxide - Used in extremely fine micron grit (micrometer level) papers.
Diamond: Used for finishing and polishing hard metals, ceramics, and glass.
Ceramic alumina - Used in high-pressure applications, used in both coated abrasives, as well as in bonded abrasives.

Wet and Dry Sandpaper
Abrasive papers and cloths with a waterproof backing allow the use of a lubricant, typically water, which can both decapitate rough surfaces when used dry and produce a semi-polished satin-type finish when wet. Super-fine grades can produce a "key" adhesion surface appropriate for spray painting in critical decorative applications such as automotive bodywork repair

Aluminium oxide sandpaper 230x280mm

Silicon carbide sandpaper 230x280mm

How to Select the Right Grit Size of Sandpaper?
Sandpaper is graded based on the number of abrasive particles per square inch that make up the sandpaper. The higher the number, the smaller the grains and the finer the sandpaper grit.
And, conversely, lower numbers indicate larger grains and overall coarser sandpaper.
P60-220 grit: for rough sanding and removing scratches
P320-400 grit: for light sanding between coats of finish or to sand metal and other hard surfaces.
P400-800 grit: for final finishing before painting.
P1000-1500 grit: for sanding between coats
P2000-3000 grit: for buffing.

Learn more detals about sandpapers

Scuff abrasives are made with premium Non-Woven synthetic webbing and coated with silicon Carbide or Aluminum Oxide abrasive grains. The scuff abrasives are usually made into scuff pads, scuff rolls and scuff discs. The scuff abrasives can be cut easily and used as alternatives to steel wool, or other non-woven abrasives. They are anti-clogging and waterproof which can be used with water and wet condition. The scuff abrasives are widely used to remove rust, clean, finish and polish metal and hard surfaces.

Main Features:
• Durable and Long Lasting
• Easily Cut
• Anti-clogging
• Waterproof: Washable and reusable
• Various coarseness for different tasks

Materials can be used on:
• Metals
• Non-ferrous Metal
• Aluminum
• Stainless steel
• Steel
• Paint
• Plastic
• Wood

Tasks can be used for:
• Blending
• Light deburring
• Cleaning
• Removing rust
• Sanding lacquered wood
• Scuffing
• Paint removal
• Final preparation

Sanding sponges are made from a flexible sponge that’s covered with sanding grit, the suppleness of a sanding sponge allows the user to sand rounded edges uniformly just by pressing the sponge on the edge while sanding. Some sanding sponges come with a beveled side that helps with sanding in tight spots, such as around the base of stair balusters.
These sanding sponges are the everyday sanding tool. Similar to regular sandpaper, sanding sponges come in various grits.
Sanding sponges are just like regular sandpaper; the lower the number, the rougher the grit, and the more material the sanding sponge will remove. Likewise, higher grits will give you a smoother finish but remove less material.
There are also various sizes of sanding sponges. Some are large and fill up your whole hand. Larger sponges are useful for smoothing out drywall or preparing furniture for paint.
Smaller sanding sponges work well for detail work. Maybe you like to make small wooden crafts, and you need to keep your sanding precise – this is the time to go small.

How to Use a Sanding Sponge
Here are some guidelines to remember when using a sanding sponge.
Safety – always wear eye protection. It’s also a good idea to wear a face mask.
Start with a low grit – the lower the grit, the rougher the sandpaper, and the more material it will remove. Start with 80-grit or even 40-grit (for especially rough surfaces) and systematically work your way up. For most surfaces, you’ll want to work up to around 220 grit.
Sand with the grain – avoid sanding across the grain. Sanding with the grain gives you the smoothest finish and avoids scratch marks.
Mark the area you’d like to sand – when using a sanding sponge, you’re going to remove material quickly. You don’t want to sand off a corner you needed accidentally.
Use even pressure – let the sandpaper do the work. A comfortable pressure is all you need – this will prevent avoidable scratches. If you feel like you’re not removing enough material, try using a lower grit before you tire yourself out.