Types of Abrasives for Sanding

Festool abrasives are among the abrasive industry’s finest offerings. Festool abrasives are as good as any of the best I’ve used and I have used Klingspor, Mirka, Norton, and 3M products in a production setting.

Here’s what is important:
Festool Abrasives offer an excellent finish, time savings, cost savings, and long life. Stick Fix is Festool’s Brand of Hook and loop (Velcro type) Festool Offers several lines of sand paper with different characteristics.

For woodworking, you will mostly be using Rubin and Brilliant 2 Paper. Rubin is best for bare wood but is only available up to 180 grit. Brilliant2 has an anti static coating primarily for paints and varnishes but is fine for bare wood in the higher grits. Neither will cause issues with waterbornes. 
Abrasives smooth the surface by replacing scratches with a series of finer scratches until the surface appears acceptable for its intended use. Generally, I do not recommend skipping more than two abrasive grades when sanding. Short cuts tend to show up in the finished product.

Manufacturers use Different Standards
Abrasives manufacturers use sorting systems to classify grains. Coarser abrasives are sorted by screens that used to size the grain. Common grit sizes refer to the number of particular grains it takes end to end to measure one inch. Smaller abrasives are measured in microns. Even with these grit number classifications, some manufacturers use different grading systems such as Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA), Coated Abrasives Manufacturers Institute (CAMI) or American National Standards Institute (ANSI). When Festool abrasives are classified to the Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA)and are designated with a P such as “P220”.

Grit Comparison Chart

Technical Data for Festool Abrasives

For woodworking, you will mostly be using Rubin and Brilliant 2 Paper. Rubin is best for bare wood but is only available up to 180 grit. Brilliant2 has an anti static coating primarily for paints and varnishes but is fine for bare wood in the higher grits. Neither will cause issues with waterbornes. 

CRISTAL: Festools Most Aggresive Abrasive
Use/Materials: Paints/ Varnishes, Wood Preliminary, Drywall Compound Auto Body Filler, Preliminary coarse sanding Aggressive Sanding Specs: AlOx with open coat to resist clogging (OK for sanding waterborne finishes); Phenolic resin bond on tear resistant paper. Availability: Grits 40 to 120	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # P100 100 494035 P120 100 494036 P40 50 494032 P60 50 494033 P80 50 494034 P40 5 494027 P60 5 494028 P80 5 494029	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # P100 100 494045 P120 100 494046 P40 50 494042 P60 50 494043 P80 50 494044 P40 5 494037 P60 5 494038 P80 5 4940939 P100 5 494040 P120 5 494041
Applications Coarse sanding on: Old lacquer and paint Plasterboard and dry wall filler Vehicle body repair compound Soft sublayers Water-based acrylic or oil paint Undercoat Filler Protective Paint Primer Polyester resin, epoxy resin and PUR varnishes Plaster, dry construction filler Softwood, hardwood, chipboard and other board	Features: Efficient, rapid material removal Grit coating adapted to each individual grit size for consistent working results High resistance to clogging Long usable life Even surface roughness Special Phenolic resin bonding for extreme durability Wear-resistant grit extends usable life No grit disintegration
RUBIN: General Woodworking
Use/Materials: General Woodworking sanding of bare wood. Preliminary and Intermediate sanding Specs: AlOx Type E paper Availability: Grits 50 to 180 Applications: Hard and Soft wood Wood composites Varnishes Paints Nitro-cellulose Paints Old Coats of Paint Primed Wood Note: For sanding wood with grits higher than 180, switch to Brilliant	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # P50 50 493114 P80 50 493115 P100 50 493116 P120 50 493117 P150 50 493118 P180 50 493119 P50 5 493120 P80 5 493121 P100 5 493122 P120 5 493123	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # P24 50 486392 P36 50 486393 P50 50 486394 P80 50 486395 P100 50 486396 P120 50 486397 P150 50 486398 P180 50 486399 P50 5 489482 P80 5 484107 P100 5 489483 P120 5 489484
BRILLIANT: Paints, Varnishes and Woods
Use/Materials: Paints/ Varnishes and Wood Preliminary, Intermediate and Final sanding Specs: AlOx with anti static compound to resist clogging (OK for sanding waterborne finishes); synthetic resin bond on tear resistant paper. Availability: Grits 40 to 400 Applications Nitro-varnish Priming Varnish Fine and Polyester Filler Thermoplastic and Fiber-Reinforced Plastics Water-based acrylic or oil paint Undercoat Filler Protective Paint Primer Polyester resin, epoxy resin and PUR varnishes Plaster, dry construction filler Softwood, hardwood, chipboard and other board	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # P60 50 492944 P80 50 492945 P100 100 492946 P120 100 492947 P150 100 492948 P180 100 492949 P220 100 492950 P320 100 492951 P400 100 492952 P120 5 492953 P180 5 492954 P320 5 492955	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # P40 50 492979 P60 50 492980 P80 50 492981 P100 100 492982 P120 100 492983 P150 100 492984 P180 100 492985 P240 100 492987 P320 100 492988 P400 100 492989 P40 5 492975 P120 5 492976 P180 5 492977 P320 5 492978
TITAN: Solid Surface, Automotive, Fillers
Use/Materials: Solid Surface, Automotive Compounds and Fillers Preliminary, Intermediate and Final sanding Spec’s: AlOx with stearate (not suitable for sanding waterborne finishes); flexible paper Availability: Grits 40 to 1500 Applications: Filling Materials Synthetic Resin Nitro-Cellulose Primers 2-component Materials Light sanding of finish prior to repainting Ceramic paints	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # P80 50 492966 P120 100 492967 P150 100 492968 P180 100 492969 P220 100 492970 P240 100 492971 P320 100 492972 P360 100 492973 P400 100 492974 P1200¹ 100 492363 P1500¹ 100 492364 P3000¹ 100 492365	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # P80 50 492335 P100 100 492336 P120 100 492337 P150 100 492338 P180 100 492339 P220 100 492340 P240 100 492341 P280 100 492342 P320 100 492343 P360 100 492344 P400 100 492345 P500 100 492346 P800 100 492347 P1200¹ 100 492348 P1500¹ 100 492349
SAPHIR: Heavy Duty Applications, Paint Removal
Use/Materials: Heavy duty sanding, Paint removal Preliminary sanding Specs: AlOx type X fiber Availability: Grits 24 to 80 4-1/2”, 5", 6”, 7” Discs and Deltex only Applications: Sanding reinforced concrete and fiber-reinforced plastics (GRP, CFRP etc) Sanding Fillers Dressing Rough Lumber Fine Sanding of Uncoated Metal Surfaces Deburring, Rust Removal, De-Scaling	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # P24 25 493124 P36 25 493125 P50 25 493126 P80 25 493127	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # P24 5 484105 P24 25 486388 P36 25 486389 P50 25 486390 P80 25 486391
VLIES: Light Duty, Degreasing, Polishing Metals
Use/Materials: light sanding degreasing all materials, Light sanding of paints before repainting (synthetic steel wool) polishing metal, removing oxidation from alloys Specs: AlOx or Silicon Carbide bonded to non-woven fiber mat (No holes- dust collection is through material) Availability: Grits 100, 280, 800 Applications: Removing Oxidation From Light Alloys Polishing Non-Ferrous/Heavy Metals Polishing Soldered Welded Points and Joins Deep Cleaning of Natural Woods, Veneered and Lasered Surfaces Lightly Sanding Old Coats of Paint Before Repainting Vlies 280 and 800 Can Be Used for Polishing Solid Surface. Excellent for Producing a Matte or Satin Finish.	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # A120¹ 5 488107 A280¹ 5 488108	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # A100 5 482778 A280 5 482779 A800 5 482780
PLATIN: Finish Sanding
Use/Materials: Finish sanding, Super finishing Specs: Silicone Carbide on fabric face bonded to foam backing. (Similar to Mirka brand Abralon or Micro Mesh products) (No holes- dust collection is through material) Availability: Grits 400 to 4000 5”, 6” Discs only Applications: Finishing with Grit Greater Than Grade 600 in Preparation for polishing Mineral Materials Such as Corian®, Varicor®, Cristalan®, Staron®, Acrylic glass, Plexiglas® PUR High-Gloss Paint Ceramic Paints Water-Borne Paints	Abrasive for 5" Sanders Grit Qty Item # S400¹ 15 492373 S500¹ 15 492374 S1000¹ 15 492375 S2000¹ 15 492376 S4000¹ 15 492377	Abrasive for 6 " Sanders Grit Qty Item # S400 15 492368 S500 15 492369 S1000 15 492370 S2000 15 492371 S4000 15 492372