Free Sandpaper Grit Chart PDF: Every Grit, Every Material

Reviewed by the Professional Sandpaper Guide editorial team, with technical input from flooring industry professionals with 25+ years of experience in abrasives manufacturing. Grit sequences align with NWFA Sand & Finish Guidelines.

Run 36 → 60 → 80 → 100 on the drum sander for a full refinish over old polyurethane. Drop the 36 and start at 60 on bare wood. Follow the drum with a 120-grit buffer screen before clear coat or 150 before stain. Budget 4 to 6 drum sheets per grit for a 200 sq ft room. The rest of this guide breaks each grit down by machine, material, and sheet count.

Print this chart and take it to the rental shop. Download the Floor Sanding Grit Chart (PDF) — one page with the grit sequence, machine compatibility, and sheet counts by room size.

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Quick Reference Chart

Scenario	Grit Sequence	Machine	Sheets / 200 sq ft
Full refinish over old poly	36 → 60 → 80 → 100	Drum sander	4—6 per grit
Bare wood (no old finish)	60 → 80 → 100	Drum sander	3—4 per grit
Edger (perimeter)	Match drum grit at every stage	Clarke Super 7R	4—6 discs per grit
Buffer — clear coat prep	120 screen	Buffer / polisher	2—3 screens
Buffer — stain prep	150 screen	Buffer / polisher	2—3 screens
Between finish coats	180—220 screen	Buffer / polisher	1—2 screens

The one rule you cannot break: Never skip more than one grit. Each grit erases the scratch pattern of the grit before it. Skip a grit and those scratches show through your finish — invisible under dust but obvious under polyurethane or stain.

Grit-by-Grit Breakdown

36 Grit — The Heavy Cut

36 grit is the most aggressive sandpaper you’ll use on a hardwood floor — designed for removing old finish. Heavy polyurethane, paint, old varnish, adhesive residue — 36 grit cuts through all of it. Only use 36 when there’s a thick coating to remove. On bare wood, 36 is too aggressive and will leave deep scratches that take multiple passes to erase.

Virginia Abrasives 8×19.5-inch drum sander sheets in 36 grit use aluminum oxide on heavy paper backing. Budget 4 to 6 sheets per 200 square feet — heavily coated floors eat through coarse sheets fast. Change the sheet as soon as it stops cutting aggressively; a dull coarse sheet glazes the finish instead of removing it.

60 Grit — The Transition Cut

60 grit removes the deep scratch pattern left by 36 and reveals clean, smooth wood. If starting on bare wood, 60 is your first pass. The transition from 36 to 60 is the most important grit change in the entire process. Skip 60 and the 36-grit scratches reappear the moment you apply finish — they hide under dust but show under polyurethane or stain.

At 60 grit, the floor should look uniformly clean. If you still see patches of old finish at board edges or in low spots, you need another 36-grit pass in those areas or the floor has cupping that requires more aggressive leveling. See our troubleshooting guide for cupped and uneven floors.

80 Grit — The Workhorse

80 grit is where the floor starts looking like a floor again — the most-used grit in floor refinishing. Virginia Abrasives 80/100 combo packs save about 15% versus buying each grit separately.

Pro tip: After running 80 grit, wipe the floor with a damp rag and let it dry for 10 minutes. The moisture raises any scratch marks hiding under dust. If you see scratches, run another 80-grit pass before moving to 100. Much easier to catch now than after finish. For a detailed comparison, see 80 Grit vs 100 Grit Sandpaper for Floors.

100 Grit — The Final Drum Pass

100 grit is your last drum sander pass. The wood should feel smooth with the grain and show no visible scratch lines when you shine a bright light at a low angle across the surface. This low-angle light test is how professionals verify their work.

Don’t take the drum sander beyond 100. Finer grits belong on the buffer, where the machine’s orbital action blends scratch patterns. Running 120 on a drum sander can burnish the wood, closing the grain and causing uneven stain absorption.

120—220 Grit — Buffer and Screen

The buffer blends the drum sander’s straight-line scratch pattern with the edger’s semicircular pattern. Use 120 grit for clear coat prep, 150 for stain prep (finer scratch accepts stain more evenly), and 180—220 between coats of finish.

Between coats of polyurethane, you’re scuffing the surface so the next coat bonds — not removing wood. A 180 or 220 screen does this without cutting through the previous coat. Vacuum thoroughly and wipe with a tack cloth before the next coat. Dust trapped between coats creates visible bumps in the final finish.

CAMI vs FEPA: Two grit rating systems exist. CAMI is standard in North America; FEPA (prefixed with “P”) is international. They’re close at coarse grits but diverge above 220 — a FEPA P100 is roughly equivalent to a CAMI 120. Virginia Abrasives and all U.S. rental shops use CAMI. Stick with the number on the package.

Which Grit Do I Start With

Your starting grit depends entirely on what’s already on the floor:

Floor Condition	Start At	Full Sequence
New / unfinished hardwood	60	60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Light wear, finish intact	60	60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Standard refinish (1—2 coats poly)	36	36 → 60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Heavy poly / multiple coats	36	36 → 60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Paint on wood floors	24 or 36	24 → 36 → 60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Shellac / old varnish / adhesive	24 or 16	16/24 → 36 → 60 → 80 → 100 → 120 screen
Screen & recoat (light refresh)	120—150	120 or 150 screen only (buffer)
Between coats of poly	180—220	180 or 220 screen only (buffer)

The test: Put a 36-grit belt on the drum sander and sand a 4×4-foot test area in the worst part of the floor. If the test patch comes out completely bare and clean — even at board edges — then 36 is your starting grit. If it’s not clean, drop to 24. Most pre-1950 floors with multiple layers of old finish need a 24-grit start on 110-volt rental sanders.

Grit Selection by Material

Wood (Hardwood Floors, Furniture, Decks)

Hardwood floors use the full drum sander sequence (36—100 on the drum, 120+ on the buffer). Furniture uses the same grit logic with handheld orbital sanders — start at 80 on bare wood, 60 if removing finish. See our furniture sanding guide and deck sanding guide.

Drywall

Entirely different from wood — you’re smoothing joint compound, not removing material. Start at 120 for rough shaping, 150 for final smoothing. Never go below 120; coarser grits tear the paper face. Use a pole sander, not a drum sander. See our drywall sanding guide and the drywall sandpaper buying guide for which sheets to buy.

Metal

Uses silicon carbide or zirconia abrasives rather than aluminum oxide. Start at 80 for rust removal, 120—180 for smoothing, 220—400 for pre-paint prep. Wet sanding with silicon carbide prevents heat buildup. See our sandpaper types guide.

Paint Removal

Start coarser than a standard refinish — typically 24 or 36 grit. Latex paint clogs sandpaper faster than polyurethane; budget 50% more sheets. Important: Test for lead paint before sanding any pre-1978 house. See our paint removal guide.

How Many Sheets Do You Need

For a standard 200 square foot room:

Abrasive Type	Per Grit	Total (4-grit sequence)
Drum sander sheets (8×19.5")	3—4 sheets	12—16 sheets
Edger discs (7")	4—6 discs	16—24 discs
Buffer screens (17" or 20")	2—3 screens	2—3 screens (one grit only)

Always buy 20% extra. Running out mid-job means stopping, driving to the store, and a visible line where you paused. See our Clarke DU-8 sheet guide and 7-inch edger disc guide for product recommendations.

Species note: The grit sequence is the same for all common North American hardwoods — oak (Janka 1290), maple (1450), hickory (1820), cherry (950), and walnut (1010). Harder species dull sheets faster, so budget more sheets for hickory and maple floors. Softer species like pine (690) and Douglas fir (660) require lighter pressure to avoid gouging.

For per-square-foot quantity math with species multipliers and worked examples, see our sheet calculator. For brand picks across the cut grits vs finish grit (VA semi-closed coat for cut, Norton closed-coat for finish when staining), see our hardwood floor refinishing guide. For the full process including pre-rental safety checks and dust setup, see how to sand hardwood floors.

Print the chart, run the sequence, water-wipe before you commit. The rest is feel.

Matt.