Sanding belts: how to choose the right grit

Sanding tapes is one of the most common abrasive materials used to treat various surfaces. They can be used for grinding, polishing, stripping, deburring and other operations.

One ​​of the most important parameters of grinding belts is grain size. The grain determines the size of the abrasive grains that are applied to the tape. The higher the grain size, the finer the abrasive grains and the thinner the treated surface.

The influence of grain size on the quality of processing

The grain size of sanding belts has a significant impact on the quality of processing. The following factors should be taken into account when choosing a granularity:

• The type of material being processed. For processing hard materials such as metal, low grit belts must be used. For processing soft materials such as wood, you can use tapes with a high grain.
• The type of operation being performed. For coarse sanding, low grit belts must be used. For fine sanding or polishing, use belts with a high grain size.
• Expected processing result. To obtain a smooth surface, it is necessary to use tapes with high grain. To obtain a rough surface, you can use tapes with low grain.

Grain size of VSM and 3M sanding belts

The companies VSM and 3M offer a wide selection of sanding belts of different grain sizes.

VSM

Company VSM offers sanding belts with grit from P24 to P2500.

• P24-P60: rough grinding, removal of burrs, surface preparation for painting or varnishing.
• P80-P180: medium sanding, removal of rough sanding marks, surface preparation for polishing.
• P220-P320: fine grinding, polishing, removal of small surface defects.
• P400-P600: final grinding, polishing, obtaining a smooth surface.
• P800-P1200: polishing, obtaining a mirror surface.
• P1500-P2500: polishing, obtaining a high-gloss surface.

3M

Company 3M offers sanding belts with grit from P24 to P12000.

• P24-P60: rough grinding, removal of burrs, surface preparation for painting or varnishing.
• P80-P120: medium sanding, removal of rough sanding marks, surface preparation for polishing.
• P180-P220: fine grinding, polishing, removal of small surface defects.
• P240-P320: final grinding, polishing, obtaining a smooth surface.
• P400-P600: polishing, obtaining a mirror surface.
• P800-P1200: polishing, obtaining a high-gloss surface.
• P1500-P2500: polishing, obtaining an ultra-glossy surface.
• P3000-P6000: polishing, obtaining a diamond surface.
• P10000-P12000: polishing, obtaining an optical surface.

Choosing the grit of sanding belts

When choosing the grain size of sanding belts, all the factors mentioned above should be taken into account. The correct choice of grain will allow you to get the desired processing result.