Abrasive Sandpapers

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 sandpaper - 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 sandpaper - 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 aluminum oxide - Used in high-pressure applications, used in both coated abrasives, as well as in bonded abrasives.

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

The wet abrasive sandpapers are ideal for hand sanding both wet and dry. Available in many grits and cut to fit various hand tools, the many varieties of abrasives and treatments provide user versatility for general-purpose sanding of many materials:

• Body Fillers
• Paint
• Lacquers
• Metal
• Ferrous Metal
• Non-Ferrous Metal
• Stainless Steel
• Composite
• Granite
• Marble
• Glass
• Plastic
• PVC

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.
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.