What Grit Is Medium Sandpaper? A Clear Answer

What Grit Is Medium Sandpaper?

Ask three suppliers what counts as "medium grit" and you may get three slightly different answers. This guide clears up the actual sandpaper grit grades, where medium and fine really fall on that scale, and what a specific grit like 120 is actually good for.

What Does Sandpaper Grit Mean?

Grit is a measure of the size of the abrasive particles bonded to the sandpaper's surface, and it's what determines how aggressively a given sheet, belt, or disc cuts. Grit numbers in North America follow the CAMI (Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute) standard; European manufacturers use the FEPA standard, whose grit numbers are marked with a "P." The two scales are close but not identical, so a CAMI 120 and a FEPA P120 aren't always the exact same particle size. The rule that matters day-to-day is simple either way: the lower the number, the larger and coarser the abrasive particle, and the more material it removes per pass. The higher the number, the finer the particle, and the smoother — but slower-cutting — the result.

What Are the Grades of Sandpaper?

Individual grit numbers get grouped into broader grades to make shopping easier. The full range looks roughly like this:

• Extra-coarse (24–36 grit): Rapid stock removal — initial hardwood floor sanding, leveling very rough lumber.
• Coarse (40–60 grit): Stripping paint or old finish, removing deep gouges, fast shaping.
• Medium (80 grit, sometimes extended to 100–120): Smoothing bare wood and removing the scratch pattern left by coarser grits — more on this below.
• Fine (100–120 grit): Pre-finish sanding, cleaning up scratches from medium grit, roughing up a painted surface before a new coat.
• Very fine (150–220 grit): Final sanding before stain or a clear coat, and scuff-sanding between finish coats.
• Extra-fine to super-fine (320–600 grit): Polishing finishes and bare metal, often used wet.
• Ultra-fine (800 grit and up): Final polishing on finishes and metal, rarely needed in general woodworking.

So, What Grit Is Medium Sandpaper?

Here's the honest answer: it depends on which chart you're reading. By the strictest CAMI grading, "medium" refers specifically to 80 grit, with 100 and 120 grit classified one step up as "fine." In practice, though, a lot of suppliers — us included — group 80, 100, and 120 grit together under a single "medium grit" category, because all three do the same job in a woodworking project: smoothing bare wood and prepping a surface for finishing, just at slightly different levels of aggressiveness. If a chart or a supplier calls something "medium," it's worth checking the actual grit number rather than assuming — the term itself isn't perfectly standardized across the industry. Our own Sandpaper Medium Grit collection covers 80, 100, and 120 grit for exactly this reason. This is also the exact range you'll reach for when setting up a machine like a drum sander or an edge sander — both typically start around 80–100 grit for dimensioning and step up to 120 before glue-up or finishing.

What Is Fine Grit Sandpaper?

Fine grit sandpaper — generally 100 to 120 grit, sometimes extended up through 220 depending on the source — is the step between rough shaping and a finish-ready surface. It's fine enough to remove the visible scratch marks a coarser grit leaves behind, but still cuts fast enough to be practical for a full project rather than just a final touch-up. Common uses include smoothing bare wood before stain or paint, roughing up a glossy painted surface so a new coat will bond, and sanding drywall joint compound smooth before priming.

What Is 120 Grit Sandpaper Used For?

120 grit sits right at the boundary between "medium" and "fine" depending on the chart, which makes it one of the most useful, general-purpose grits to keep on hand. It's commonly the last step before finish on bare wood — fine enough to erase the scratch pattern left by 80 or 100 grit, but not so fine that it burnishes the wood and makes stain absorb unevenly. It's also a common choice for a light in-between pass on painted surfaces and for general hand-sanding where you want a smooth result without a lot of extra steps. See the full range of 120 grit stock we carry in our 120 Grit Sanding Paper collection.

Choosing the Right Grit for the Job

Start coarser than you think you need if you're removing material or old finish, then work your way up through the grits rather than skipping straight to a fine one — jumping too far ahead just means the coarser scratches take longer to sand out later. A typical progression for bare wood runs something like 80 to 120 to 150 or 180, finishing with whatever the manufacturer of your stain or topcoat recommends. Always sand with the grain on solid wood, and replace a belt or disc once it's worn smooth rather than fighting a dull abrasive — a fresh sheet at the right grit outperforms a worn one at a finer grit almost every time. This same progression shows up across most stationary sanders — see our guides to using a belt and disc sander and what a spindle sander does for how grit choice plays out on each machine.

Sandpaper We Carry

We stock Klingspor abrasives across the medium grit range — PS11 silicon carbide for wet/dry work, PS33 stearated aluminum oxide on paper backing, PS61 ceramic for longer life on tougher material, and FP77 GreenTec waterproof film with anti-loading coating — in sizes from 4" to 12" and a range of hole patterns, including Festool-compatible. Browse the full selection in our Sandpaper Medium Grit collection, or see our complete Klingspor lineup if you need coarser or finer grits too.

Related Reading

Drum Sanders Review · How to Use an Edge Sander · How to Use a Belt and Disc Sander · What Is a Spindle Sander? · Sanding Machine: How to Use

FAQ

What grit is medium sandpaper?

Strictly, 80 grit is classified as "medium" on the CAMI grading chart, with 100 and 120 grit one step up as "fine." Many suppliers, including us, group 80–120 grit together as "medium" for shopping purposes, since all three grits serve the same general stage of a project.

What are the grades of sandpaper?

From coarsest to finest: extra-coarse (24–36), coarse (40–60), medium (80), fine (100–120), very fine (150–220), extra-fine to super-fine (320–600), and ultra-fine (800 and up).

What is fine grit sandpaper used for?

Fine grit (roughly 100–120, sometimes up to 220) is used to remove scratches left by coarser grits, smooth bare wood before finishing, rough up a painted surface for recoating, and sand drywall compound smooth.

What is 120 grit sandpaper used for?

120 grit is typically the last sanding step before finish on bare wood, smoothing out the scratch pattern from 80 or 100 grit without over-burnishing the surface. It's also useful for light in-between sanding on paint and general-purpose hand sanding.