Cornerstone guide

What grit sandpaper for woodworking?

The sequence matters more than the grit.

Every woodworking finish is a grit sequence. Start too coarse and you're fighting the surface longer than necessary. Start too fine and you're not removing anything. Skip a step and the scratches show up the moment stain or finish hits the wood. This is the sequence, explained by task and by wood type.

Not sure what the numbers mean? Start with the complete grit chart.

The woodworking grit ladder

Most woodworking projects live in the 80–220 range. The high-grit world of 400, 800, and beyond is for clear-coat work and auto-body finishing — not for bare wood.

By task

Raw wood removal and shaping

Grits: 40–80. If the surface is rough from the saw or has serious high spots, start at 40 or 60. Most project wood from a hardwood dealer comes ready for 80. Rough lumber from a home center or reclaimed stock usually wants 60 first. Work with the grain — not across it — from this point forward.

The Norton 3X at 80-grit is a reliable starting point for hardwood: ceramic grain cuts fast, doesn't load with wood dust the way cheap aluminum oxide does, and the 20-pack price makes it the right call when you're going through sheets. See all 80-grit picks.

Shaping and smoothing

Grits: 100–120. After the rough work is done, 100 or 120 removes the scratch pattern from 80 and gets the surface to a condition that's smooth to look at, if not yet smooth to touch. For hardwoods, 120 is the most-used grit in the sequence — where the work starts looking like furniture.

For random orbital work, a 120-grit disc at this stage is the workhorse. Diablo's 5-inch discs come in 50-packs for a reason — this is where you use them. See all 120-grit picks.

Pre-stain

Grits: 150–180. This is the most skipped step and the one that shows up most visibly in the finished piece. Stopping at 120 before staining leaves scratch marks that absorb more stain than the surrounding wood — they read as dark lines in the grain, most obviously on oak and walnut.

For hardwood, sand to 180. For softwood (pine, fir, cedar), stop at 150 — softwood is porous, and 180 begins to close the grain in a way that creates blotching rather than preventing it. Hand-sanding the final pass with the grain at this stage is worth the extra ten minutes.

Between coats of finish

Grit: 220. You're not removing material. You're knocking down dust nibs, brush marks, and any grain that raised when the first coat wet the surface. Light pressure, with the grain, until the sheen turns uniformly matte. Wipe the surface clean before the next coat.

If you're applying waterborne finish (water-based poly, lacquer, milk paint topcoat), 320 between coats is better than 220 — waterborne raises grain more aggressively, and the finer grit leaves a cleaner base for the next application. See all 220-grit picks.

Final finish

Grit: 220–320. The last bare-wood pass before any clear coat goes on. This is also where hand sanding takes over from the orbital — the machine is fast, but it leaves a swirl pattern that's invisible dry and visible under finish. A final pass by hand, with the grain, at 220, removes the swirls before the finish locks them in.

By wood type

Hardwoods (oak, maple, walnut, cherry)

Start at 80 unless the surface is already flat, then 120. Full sequence: 80 → 120 → 180 → 220. Hardwoods sand cleanly and reward the full progression. The grain is tight enough that ceramic abrasives (Norton 3X, Cubitron II) are worth the cost over commodity aluminum oxide — they cut faster and leave a more consistent scratch pattern.

Softwoods (pine, fir, spruce)

Start at 100 or 120. Softwood dents and tears more easily than hardwood; 80 on pine can leave deep scratches that need real work to remove. Full sequence: 100 → 150 → 180 if painting; 100 → 150 if staining (then apply a pre-stain wood conditioner before color). Softwood does not need 220 before stain — the grain is open enough that the finer grit does little.

Plywood

Start at 120 on the face veneer — never coarser. The veneer is thin (typically 0.6–1.5mm on good plywood), and 80-grit will sand through it before you notice. Full sequence: 120 → 180 → 220. If you're painting, a coat of sanding sealer after 120 will raise and fill the grain better than trying to sand the face veneer to perfection.

MDF and particle board

MDF sands easily but absorbs finish aggressively, especially at edges. Start at 150 on faces; use 180 on edges before priming. The standard approach: 150 faces → 180 edges → prime → sand back at 220 → finish coats. MDF does not need a stain sequence — it's typically painted, and primer is the foundation for everything that follows.

Common mistakes

• Skipping from 80 to 220. The two-step feels efficient. The scratches from 80-grit look invisible until the stain goes on. They are not invisible. Work through the sequence.
• Sanding too fine before staining hardwoods. 220 before stain on oak or maple closes the grain and reduces penetration. The stain comes out lighter and less even than it would have at 180. Know when to stop.
• Over-sanding with the orbital. Random orbital sanders at 220 leave a swirl pattern. It's invisible dry. It shows under finish. The last pass — especially in the 180–220 range — should always be hand-sanded with the grain.
• Changing grit but not cleaning the surface. Grit particles from the previous sheet fall onto the surface and ride under the new sheet. Vacuum and tack-cloth the piece at every grit change. It takes 90 seconds. It matters.
• Using worn-out paper. Dull sandpaper burnishes wood rather than cutting it. A glazed surface takes stain poorly and holds finish poorly. Change the paper when it stops cutting. The cost of a fresh sheet is nothing compared to refinishing the piece.