Progression of sanding grits...

[Herb G]

What is your preferred progression of sanding grits & why?
Meaning, do you go from 40 grit to 320 grit, or what steps do you take in between?

I am looking for some guidance into the process. I have been out of actual woodworking for so long I actually forgot.
I remember starting at like 80 grit, going to 150 grit, then 220, 320, & finally 400 grit.

Discuss?

[John Mihich]

I rarely start below 100. I will usually start at 120 and go to 220; 120-150-180-220. I will stop at 180 if I paint or stain. I will go to 220 if I finish with only clear finishes. I will use 320/400 in between coats.

[Cecil]

John Mihich said:

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I rarely start below 100. I will usually start at 120 and go to 220; 120-150-180-220. I will stop at 180 if I paint or stain. I will go to 220 if I finish with only clear finishes. I will use 320/400 in between coats.

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+1, mostly. I generally start at 100, rarely below. Never as course as 40 or 60.

[Wild Turkey]

80 and below are for removing wood. If you are using other methods (plane, jointer, etc) then you go with what you need to smooth any marks left by your tools.

My Shelix heads leave a smooth enough surface 120 or even 180 could be a starting grit. Something ripped with a good blade might need a coarser starting point.

Also, if you've been out of the hobby for a while the new ROS sanders also make a big difference -- a 3/16ths orbit with 100 grit will both remove wood and leave a smoother surface.

A smaller orbit and finer paper will leave a really slick surface.

You just have to see what works for you and your skill/tool set.

[Ken Vick]

Depends on the finish that is going on it. For Danish Oil or similar I go to 400 and for my rocking chairs to 600. For an oil finish, going to the finer grits makes a big difference. If you are using a film finish, I don't see any need to go past 180. I run a lot of my stuff through the drum sander at 120 and then I start at 150. For rocking chairs where you are removing a lot of wood, it is common to use 36 grit but this really isn't finishing, its is carving. Ken

[WaterlooMarc]

Most often I'm a 120-150-180 kinda guy. I go higher if it's a touch or "show" surface. I rarely drop down to 80 unless I've done a terrible job gluing up the panel or I've allowed my knives to get too dull.

This has been something I've adopted over the past 5 years. I used to always start at 80 and go up. I shudder to think how much time I wasted over the years sanding out the scratch patterns of the coarse grits I didn't need!

[packerguy®]

Depends on the wood.

Hard stuff like Oak and Maple....100, 120, 150
Softer stuff like Walnut and Cherry....120, 150
Pine 150, 180

This is for shellac or WB finishes. If its going to be a high gloss ill go to 220. Then 800 or 1200 between coats

I dont think its an exact science.....many ways to kill that bear. Fool around till you find what works for you.

[Steve N]

Rough to fine is usually how I roll

Unless I am not really sanding, but doing stock shaping I seldom go below 150. Starting with a jointer, then a planer it is a backward move going lower. I have been know to go to 320 if I plan to pad on Shellac. But then that is also dependent on the wood.

[Mark P]

I go 80,120,180,220 on RO sander then 220 by hand

[Bibliophile 13]

Depends on the wood and its final application.

If my tools are sharp, I rarely need anything other than 220. For furniture, when I sand at all, I typically just plane the surface smooth (with a handplane) and go over everything with 220. Film finish goes on over that.

For most projects, I probably use more sandpaper sanding between coats of finish than I use on the wood itself.

For a tobacco pipe, however, I use 150 grit to remove file marks, then sand through 220, 320, 600, and 1000 grit before applying a wax finish. Because it's made from burl, sanding scratches from the higher grits would remain visible if I didn't sand to a pretty high grit.