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Table comparing sandpaper grit standard in Europe and USA
The below table is originally from Wkipedia, but with some slight changes. What it shows is two colored sections, a section where the difference is small enough to not matter too much (green) and a section from where difference is huge and must be thought of (red). As can be seen, it is only when using finer grits that the difference need to be considered. But in the fine grits, the difference is huge.
| ISO/FEPA Grit designation (European standard) | CAMI Grit designation (US standard) | Average particle diameter (µm) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MACROGRITS | |||
| Extra Coarse (Very fast removal of material, hardwood flooring initial sanding) | |||
| P24 | 764 | ||
| 24 | 708 | ||
| P30 | 642 | ||
| 30 | 632 | ||
| 36 | 530 | ||
| P36 | 538 | ||
| Coarse (Rapid removal of material) | P40 | 40 | 425 |
| 50 | 348 | ||
| P50 | 336 | ||
| Medium (sanding bare wood in pre-preparation for finishing, for gentle removal of varnish, also used for skateboard grip tape) | 60 | 265 | |
| P60 | 269 | ||
| P80 | 201 | ||
| 80 | 190 | ||
| Fine (sanding bare wood in preparation for finishing, not suitable for removing varnish but for removing paint from wood, use for cleaning plaster and water stain from wood) | P100 | 162 | |
| 100 | 140 | ||
| P120 | 125 | ||
| 120 | 115 | ||
| Very Fine (sanding of bare wood, preparing for varnish or laquer or high gloss paint) | P150 | 100 | |
| 150 | 92 | ||
| P180 | 180 | 82 | |
| P220 | 220 | 68 | |
| MICROGRITS | |||
| Very Fine (sanding finishes between coats) | P240 | 58.5 | |
| 240 | 53.0 | ||
| P280 | 52.2 | ||
| P320 | 46.2 | ||
| P360 | 40.5 | ||
| Extra fine, start polishing of wood or sanding small errors in coat layers which does not risk to come in separate layers | 320 | 36.0 | |
| P400 | 35.0 | ||
| P500 | 30.2 | ||
| 360 | 28.0 | ||
| P600 | 25.8 | ||
| Super fine (final sanding of finishes, final sanding of wood) | 400 | 23.0 | |
| P800 | 21.8 | ||
| 500 | 20.0 | ||
| P1000 | 18.3 | ||
| 600 | 16.0 | ||
| P1200 | 15.3 | ||
| Ultra fine (final sanding and polishing of thick finishes and preparing for high gloss polishing) | P1500 | 800 | 12.6 |
| P2000 | 1000 | 10.3 | |
| P2500 | 8.4 | ||
