![]() To choose the correct sandpaper grit, you need to start by understanding what grit is and its impact on your project. Understanding the differences between them and identifying the right one for your material and project is essential to obtain the desired results. When selecting a new sheet or disc of sandpaper for your project, you will find out that there are several different grits and abrasive materials to choose from. However, picking the correct grit of sandpaper can genuinely make a difference in how smooth and appealing your surface will be – learn more about choosing the right sandpaper grit below. If you are not a DIY expert, all sandpaper types might look similar to you. You will ideally start with a coarser abrasive and use progressively finer ones to achieve a smooth result. Sandpaper grits are categorized by how coarse the abrasive material is. However, when buying sandpaper for the job, it is crucial to understand how different grits can impact the overall result. With sandpaper, you can make your paintwork look great and give your project an extra luxury finish. If you have no defects, all you really need is P600.Sandpaper is an essential tool that any DIYer and homeowner should have in their toolbox. If you only have chips and small dings, start with P180. Note: You don’t have to start every repair with P40 or even P80. P320 scratches in primer must be removed before paint P320 can also be used as a final straightening step when block-sanding primer P180 scratches in body filler and old paint should be removed before primer Straightening body filler, removing chips and defects in old paint P80 scratches in body filler or paint must be removed Shaping body filler, paint removal, finishing metal before primer P40 scratches in metal or reinforced body filler can be filled with body filler or glaze Heavy paint removal, medium metal removal, shaping reinforced body fillers To help you answer that question, Summit Racing’s Tech Center put together this intuitive chart: Sandpaper Recommendations for Paint & Body Work Repair Step In automotive paint and body prep, you’ll typically be sanding your metal, body filler, paint, and primer. If you want to really get into the weeds on sandpaper grit, the tech experts at Summit Racing have an excellent sandpaper grit breakdown here. Also called fine grit, this sandpaper won’t take much material off, but it’ll make the surface much, much smoother.Īs a general rule, you start with coarser grit sandpaper, like a P60, and move up to finer grit sandpaper (P320, P400, and beyond) as you progress through your paint prep. That means it’ll take a lot of material off with each pass, yet it will leave deep scratches in the surface.Ĭonversely, sandpaper with a P1000 grit rating has very small abrasive chunks. The smaller the grit number, the bigger the chunks and the more aggressive the sandpaper is.įor instance, sandpaper with a P40 grit rating has large chunks. Sandpaper is graded by grit, which really just means how aggressive the sandpaper is, based on the size of abrasive chunks stuck to it. You may want to check out our Paint and Bodywork Buyer’s Guide as well. ![]() We also created a six-part Automotive Paint Guide series that might be helpful here. This is a companion article to the Choosing the Right Body Fillerstory. So…yeah, it’s vital to get it right the first time. Why? Sanding not only smooths and straightens the surface you’re painting, it ultimately helps the paint stick to the substrate. And selecting the right grit to use for each stage of the paint and body prep process is critical to laying down a good paint job. When it comes to automotive bodywork, there are many, many different grades of sandpaper grit. Sanding is one of the most critical steps in proper body and paint prep, so make sure you’re using the right sandpaper.
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