What Grit Sandpaper Should You Use on Wood?
For most woodworking projects, start with 80 or 100 grit to remove mill marks or old finish, move to 150 grit for general smoothing, and finish with 220 grit before staining or sealing. Rougher grits below 80 are reserved for heavy stock removal or badly damaged surfaces, while anything above 320 grit is mainly for polishing between finish coats.
How grit numbers actually work
Sandpaper grit refers to the size of the abrasive particles bonded to the backing, and the number tells you the opposite of what feels intuitive. A lower number, such as 40 or 60, means larger, coarser particles that cut fast and remove a lot of material quickly. A higher number, such as 320 or 400, means finer particles that smooth the surface without taking off much wood. Manufacturer spec sheets and published woodworking standards generally group grits into rough categories: extra coarse (40 to 60), coarse (60 to 80), medium (100 to 150), fine (180 to 220), very fine (240 to 320), and extra fine (360 and up). Knowing which category a project calls for prevents both wasted effort and accidental gouging.
Choosing the right grit for each stage
- 40 to 60 grit: Used for stripping old paint or varnish, leveling badly warped boards, or removing deep scratches and saw marks. This stage is aggressive and can leave its own scratch pattern that needs to be sanded out afterward.
- 80 to 100 grit: The standard starting point for raw, rough-sawn lumber or furniture that needs shaping. According to aggregated owner reviews on sanding equipment, this range is also where a best belt sander tends to get the heaviest use, since belt sanders are built for fast material removal on larger flat surfaces.
- 120 to 150 grit: A transitional stage that smooths out the scratches left by coarser grits and prepares the wood for finer work. This is often where hand sanding or an orbital sander takes over from a belt sander.
- 180 to 220 grit: The typical finishing grit for most interior wood projects. Manufacturer guidance for stains and sealers commonly recommends stopping at 220 grit, since sanding much finer can close the wood’s pores and reduce how well stain absorbs.
- 320 grit and above: Reserved for sanding between coats of finish, such as polyurethane or lacquer, to knock down dust nibs and raised grain without cutting into the wood itself.
Matching grit progression to the project
Skipping grits is one of the most common shortcuts that backfires. Published sanding guides consistently note that each grit stage should be roughly half to two-thirds finer than the one before it, so jumping from 60 straight to 220 leaves the deeper scratches from the coarse pass still visible under a finish. A typical progression for furniture might run 80, 120, 150, and 220, while a rough deck or fence board may only need 60 followed by 100. Softwoods like pine also tend to need a slightly finer final grit than hardwoods like oak, since soft, open grain can fuzz up and telegraph scratches more easily once a finish is applied.
Common mistakes to avoid
Using too fine a grit on raw or damaged wood wastes time because the paper cannot cut through mill marks or old finish efficiently. On the other end, stopping at a grit that is too coarse leaves visible scratches that become far more obvious once stain or paint highlights them. Sanding with the grain rather than against it, and vacuuming or wiping away dust between grit changes, are both frequently cited in manufacturer prep instructions as steps that meaningfully affect the final finish quality, even though they are easy to skip when rushing.
Frequently asked questions
What grit should I use before staining wood?
Most stain and sealer manufacturers recommend finishing at 220 grit. Going beyond that can close the wood’s pores and cause the stain to absorb unevenly or appear blotchy.
Can I skip grits when sanding?
It is possible but not ideal. Skipping more than one step in the progression, such as going from 80 straight to 220, often leaves faint scratches from the coarser grit that only become visible after a finish is applied.
What grit removes paint or old varnish fastest?
Coarse grits in the 40 to 60 range are generally recommended for stripping old finishes, based on manufacturer product guides for heavy-duty sanding discs and belts.
Is a higher grit always better for a smoother finish?
Not necessarily. Once wood is sanded past roughly 220 to 320 grit, the surface can become too smooth for some stains and glues to bond properly, so higher is not automatically better for every step of a project.