What standard of sandpaper grit size are you generally referring to on this forum?

[Simon Barden]

Being from the UK, most of our sandpaper/wet'n'dry paper come in EURO/FEPA grit sizes e.g. P240, P400 etc. Whilst there is a good correlation at the coarser end of the scale with the ANSI/CAMI grit sizes, once you get above P200/200, the grits then start to differ, with the EURO grades being finer for a given value e.g. EURO P1000 is equivalent to an ANSI 500 grit.

Also note that micromesh grades are different again to either the EURO or ANSI values e.g. MM 300 is the same as ANSI 180 and EURO P180, whist MM 3200 is equivalent to ANSI 1200 (and just slightly finer than EURO P2500).

So what standard is typical in Australia? Obviously it matters when talking about sanding up to a particular fine grit size that everyone understands what's meant. Taking values from say a US book or demo video and then using a EURO rated grit of the same value will result is a less smooth finish than was intended. So what standard grits are most of you chaps talking about?

There's a useful conversion chart on this page:
https://www.thesandpaperman.com.au/abrasive-conversion-chart.html

[Chuck]

I start a bit rougher as I generally do some body reshaping, so go 60 or 80, then 120, 180, 240, 320, 400 before painting the body. Then I'll do a 600 or 800 before the gloss. When it comes to finishing up I'll wet sand with 1200 then 2000 then Meguiers car compound and then a swirl remover.

For the neck I go 120, 240, 400, 800. Then tru-oil, a 1200, then more tru-oil, then 1200 and 2000.

Hope that helps. I'm sure others have their own "recipe"!

[Simon Barden]

All good stuff, but do you know exactly what standard of the grit numbers of the sandpaper/wet'n'dry grits are that you're using? They sound like they may be EURO/FEPA standards, as there doesn't appear to be a 2000 grit on the ANSI standard - though that's only from the table I linked to and there may indeed be ANSI 2000 grits available.

There are obviously Pitbull guitar assemblers in the US and Canada on this forum, and it's not obvious that there are different grit standards in different countries, so unless it's pointed out, it can be easy for someone to under-sand or over-sand by mistake if following someone's recommendations if they are from another grit 'zone'. Luckily at the critical areas for staining (around 320 grit), the difference isn't huge, but for finer grits, there is quite a large difference.

[Dedman]

Had no idea there was different grit standards, you learn something everyday.
However they are still just numbers: coarse, not as coarse,in the middle, kinda fine, pre- used kinda fine, fine, really fine and "does this actually make a difference?" does me :P

[wazkelly]

Hi Simon, just checked my supplies and all of them started with a P then the grit value. For example; P80, P120, P180, P240, P320, P400 and so forth. On the micro mesh pads there was no prefix and they are super fine but coming into the game after using P2000 their job is more about polishing than anything else.

Hopes this clears things up as I presume most Aussie Grit paper would use the same format.

[Simon Barden]

Thanks Waz. That clears it up for me, as I'm using Pxxxx grits myself. And yes, with the micromesh its simply a case of going up through the grades until you hit 12000.

[UpperCaseH]

My sandpaper (some from the green shed, some from carbatec) is all Pxxxx also. (For other Aussies, the low grit carbatec stuff seems to last 2-3 times as long, and their wet/dry even longer).

With the micromesh stuff, that conversion chart implies that if I've wet-sanded the body to p2000, the next step should be p2500 then micromesh 3200, since the micromesh 2400 sits between p1500 and p2000 wet/dry. So I should go p2000 wet/dry > 3200 micromesh > the rest of the micromesh in sequence?

On my fretless bass, I did p2000 wet/dry > 2400 micromesh > rest of the micromesh. It came out OK, but wondering if it would have been better if I'd gone straight to the 3200 pad.

[wazkelly]

G'day H, from memory the 'Guitar Kit' Micro Mesh pack I bought came with 4000, 6000, 8000 & 12000 2" square pads so I went straight from 2000 wet to the 4000 and worked my way up from there. After doing 4 builds the 4000 has been completely destroyed but jumping up to 6000 after 2000 still works.

[Simon Barden]

The more steps you take, the less work each grade of grit has to do, so although it may sound like it takes longer, sometimes it's actually easier to run with more steps. I always use the micromesh wet on paintwork to avoid clogging, but use dry when polishing frets after levelling and re-profiling. Is this what others do?

I use pre-cut rectangles of micromesh fabric, not the pads, and get them in packs of the following grades:

1 x 1500 Regular
1 x 1800 Regular
1 x 2400 Regular
1 x 3200 Regular
1 x 3600 Regular
1 x 4000 Regular
1 x 6000 Regular
1 x 8000 Regular
1 x 12000 Regular