This is used for sanding timber to be coated or to sand previously applied coats of paint. This material is in the form of grains of different size, defined by a number that denotes the number of meshes in a square inch (6.45 cm²) of the sieve, through which abrasive grains identified by such number have passed.

The following table shows the most common sand paper types:

Paper grit                            Definition

40 – 60 – 80                          Very coarse
100 – 120 – 150                   Coarse
180 – 200 – 240                   Medium
280 – 320 – 360                   Fine
400 – 500 – 600                   Very fine
700 – 800 – 900                   Ultra fine