Thread: Sandpaper

Get Neil's book, "A Polishers Handbook"
2002 Edition by Neil Ellis. It will answer this and many other questions about finishing.


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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!

Neil's book is definitely worth getting, but in the mean time...

The choice of abrasive depends on what you're trying to achieve. Sanding raw timber is different to sanding a finish, which is different to sanding on a lathe etc etc.

Personally I use garnet paper (orange) for sanding raw timber, aluminium oxide (white) for sanding most finishes. On the lathe I use cloth back papers or velcro papers on the power & rotary sanders.

As a beginner, garnet & aluminium oxide bought from any hardware store is just fine for the basics. You should be paying $1-1.20 a sheet, and it's cheaper generally to buy a pack of 25 sheets. Spend the bucks up front and buy a pack of each grit in the range. Make sure you store it flat and it lasts forever - and that means you'll always have the grit you want when you want it.

Of course, if you want to go for quality, look up abrasives in the Yellow Pages and buy either SIA or Hermes brand for my money. Assuming you're talking to a specialist outlet, tell them what you want to do and take their advice.

As Neils book explains better than I can, always, always start with the coarsest grit you need to and go through all the grits (don't skip any) until you get to the finest. The finer you go, the better the result.

Thats a bit like asking what brand of jocks is the best, everyone has there own favorite... My choice has always been 3M both discs and sheets. Tried all the rest but nothing other than 3M meet my needs, not to say other brands won't meet your needs..Try a few different brands till you find one you prefer..

Cheers!