Sanding Abrasives


Sanding abrasives work by removing material with thousands of small abrasive particles. Start with a coarse grit, enough to remove surface imperfections and follow with incrementally finer grits, successive finer grit erases the scratch marks of the coarser one before. Sanding abrasives are available in many different formats; the more expensive products will last longer and are more effective. Sandpaper goes from 40 Grit very coarse to 400 Grit very fine.

Different sanding abrasives have different purposes:

  • Coarse grits (40-60 grit): For heavy-duty sanding and removing scratches, paint, rust, etc.
  • Medium grits (80-120 grit): For general sanding and finishing.
  • Fine grits (200+): For final finishing and polishing.


Sanding is not only useful but it also makes the whole difference for your wooden floor, improving its condition, minimizing the risks of issues, ensuring protection, and improving the appearance. However, in order for sanding to happen, you need sanding abrasives. Sanding abrasives is a category that summarizes all different accessories and tools that utilize the abrasive function of sandpaper, including the most popular sanding abrasives used for wood floor sanding – disks and sanding belts. In this context, sanding abrasives are flooring accessories used together with sanding machines and technology for stripping down the top layer of every hardwood or engineered wood floor. By removing this top layer, sanding abrasives are removing the old finish and all the small imperfections on the surface of the floor. Sanding abrasives are improving the condition of the floor by minimizing the risk of such imperfections grow bigger and cause serious issues.

Sanding Abrasives – Grit

Sanding abrasives – grit
What Does Sanding Abrasives Grit Mean?

Sanding abrasives and sandpaper come with a different grit and different grits of sanding abrasives are used for every wood floor sanding project for achieving a perfectly smooth and even surface with no imperfections and no trace of the old and worn finish. The grit of sanding abrasives is the rating of the size of abrasive materials on the sandpaper or the intensity of the sanding abrasives to say it otherwise. The higher grit number of sanding abrasives is the equivalent of finer abrasive. Such sanding abrasives are usually used for the final touches of every wood floor sanding project, creating a very smooth and uniform surface, or sometimes for buffing projects when the surface of the floor is treated lightly. Lower numbers of sanding abrasives grit are coarser abrasives and used for scraping off the old finish of the floor, scratches, dents, marks, gouges, dirt build-ups, and more.

Sanding Abrasives – Different Materials

Sanding abrasives – different materials
What Are Sanding Abrasives Made From?

Sanding abrasives are made from different materials that vary chemically. Some sanding abrasives are made from grains of the natural material garnet, while there are also some made from synthetic materials such as aluminium oxide, alumina-zirconia, silicon carbide. No matter what type of material is used for the creation of the sandpaper, the most important thing that determines its quality and efficiency is if the bond between the abrasive part and the backing material is strong enough.

How to Shop for Sanding Abrasives?

How to shop for sanding abrasives?
Understanding Sanding Abrasives

The size of the grit of every piece of sandpaper is measured via the Coated Abrasives Manufacturing Institute and the Federation of European Producers of Abrasives. In general, there are two main subdivisions of sanding abrasives – micro and micro. Both categories include many more gradations.

Sanding abrasives – grit
Sanding abrasives – different materials
How to shop for sanding abrasives?