The most common natural minerals used in abrasives are emery and garnet, while four common manmade types are silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, ceramic alumina and alumina- zirconia.

The main garnet mineral used for sandpaper is called almandine. This mineral is sharp and harder than finer-grain quartz based sandpaper. Garnet is used for a variety of utilities including countertops, blasting, cutting and as jewelry gemstones. Garnet is great for sanding due to its virtuous roughness.

Corundum is used as an abrasive because it has a hardness of 9.0 and can scratch almost anything. It is used in sandpaper and in industrial abrasives.

The lower the “grit” number results in a coarser abrasive that will remove material much faster. If the grit number is preceded by the letter “P”, such as P2000, this indicates FEPA grit. Sandpaper grit is sized by a gauge number, with lower numbers signifying larger, coarser grits. …

1,500 – 2,000 Grit 1,500 grit and 2,000 grit are used to sand the clear coat. Both grits are great for removing light clear coat scratches that can’t be removed by rubbing compound and buffing. Use 2,000 grit for final sanding to achieve smooth surface.

What is 5000 grit sandpaper used for? This 5000 grit sheet allows you to refine 3000 grit scratches and get a finer finish, greatly reducing and even eliminating the need to finish paint with rubbing compound. Features: Used for removing 3000 grade sand scratches on painted surfaces prior to polishing.

The 2500 grit sandpaper needs only to be soaked in water to use in wet sanding situations. The pad is designed to remove minor scratches out of your automobile. Includes: This versatile sandpaper is designed to work on wet sand final color or clear coats.

Dry sand using 180-grit sandpaper to remove rust or surface damage before moving on to a 320-grit paper to remove your previous 180-grit scratches. Whichever method that you decide, follow it up using 400- to 600-grit sandpaper to sand the paint to prep the existing paint surface for the new coatings to be applied.

The easiest way to tell when it’s time to change the sandpaper is to run your finger lightly over the part of the paper you’ve been using, and do the same over a part that is still new – the part that is wrapped around a sanding block, for example.)

For heavy sanding and stripping, you need coarse sandpaper measuring 40- to 60-grit; for smoothing surfaces and removing small imperfections, choose 80- to 120-grit sandpaper. For finishing surfaces smoothly, use a super fine sandpaper with 360- to 600-grit.

For drywall, 100 or 120-grit sandpaper is what’s recommended by professionals. As a second option, you can choose a sanding sponge. Some drywall experts swear by the sanding sponge as they are much more durable than regular sandpaper.

Start with 36-grit sandpaper for a floor that hasn’t been sanded in a long time or that has a lot of heavy finish on it. Floors that have been painted may even require you to go tougher and use 24 or 16-grit paper. Maple floors are so hard that they often require 36-grit sandpaper as well.