Popular 5 Types of Sandpaper for Wood with Sizes & Shape

Types of sandpaper for wood: Sandpaper is a special tool for smoothing wood. Do you know how sandpaper is made? At first, a light coating of animal glue is applied on thick and strong paper. Then, special glass and sandstone powder, or flint, emery, and garnet, or silicon carbide, and aluminum oxide (from nature) are applied evenly on the light coating of animal glue. 

Type of abrasive

• Flint: A type of quartz that is white and looks like white sand particles.
• Emery: It is hard, black, and looks like stone particles. It is a type of mineral.
• Garnet: It is a hard metal, brown. It’s a very sharp powder and can cut easily.
• Silicon Carbide: It is a bright black color. Small particles look like lead particles.
• Aluminum oxide: It is grayish-brown in color and very hard. It can easily cut any surface due to its hardness.

Types of Backing

The paper on which these particles are poured is called backing. Four types of backing are used to make sandpaper. E.g.

Paper: Four different weights of paper are commonly found, and they are known as grade A.B.C.D.E. Here grade A is usually taken as light paper. C, D Medium weight paper is commonly used for rubbing cabinets, and they are known as cabinet paper. E grade is the hardest and most durable paper. These are commonly used to make a belt and roll-shaped sandpaper. 

Cloth: Cloth back sandpaper is called emery cloth. Usually, two types of weight cloths are used as a backing which is characterized by “o”. They are lightweight, flexible and easy to bend, durable, and strong. 

Figure: Send paper of paper and cloth

Fiber: Fiber is usually made from rag stock paper. These are thick, hard, and strong. Fiber backing is made of strong, flexible, relatively hard quality paper. Fiber backing paper is used in disc and drum sanders.

Combination: These backings are usually made of two types of blends. Baking is done by mixing paper and cloth or by mixing fiber and cloth. Sandpaper made by mixing paper and cloth backing is used in a high-speed drum sander, and sandpaper made by mixing fiber and cloth is used in disc sander.

Shapes of sandpaper:

Sandpaper is made in different shapes for ease of use. E.g.

• Sheets
• Belts
• Tapes
• Discs
• Rolls
• Cylinder

Sizes of sandpaper:

Sandpaper comes in different sizes. E.g.

• Sheet size: 22.86cm X27.94cm (9″X11″) and 11.43cm X 13.43cm (4.5″X5.5″). 22.86cm X27.94cm (9″X11″) size is more popular on the market.
• Belt size: 5.08cm (2″) to 30.48cm (12″).
• Tape size: 2.54cm to 3.81 (1.5″).
• Disc size: 7.82cm to 35.56cm (3″ to 14″). 

How do you identify fine and coarse sandpaper? Sandpaper and emery paper are also available according to the size of the grit of the sandpaper. The smoothness of sandpaper depends on the grade number of grit. The higher the grade number of grit, the smoother the sandpaper, and the lower the grade number of grit, the sandpaper will be coarse or extra coarse. For example- Grade No. 10/0 and Grade No. 4 Here, Grade No. 10/0 is super fine, and Grade 4 is extra coarse.

Types of sandpaper for wood

Different types of sandpaper are mentioned in the chart below.