What Grit Sandpaper To Sand Painted Cabinets

Wood cabinets are ideal for painting but any surface that can be scuffed with sandpaper can be painted.

What grit sandpaper to sand painted cabinets.

Special cabinet paints are available that provide a smooth finish but any high quality paint should work. Laminate cabinets require a special bonding primer. Sandpaper is one of the most common items you will find with professional painters along with all types of construction workers. But you don t need to sand to bare wood.

However this grade will be more useful assuming you ve eliminated most of the paint. Light grit sandpaper such as 120 or 180 grit on an orbital won t remove material fast enough. Medium grade sandpaper will take the next level of paint and reduce it further by sanding the final layers away. Then sand again with 120 grit to get rid of any sanding marks.

Painted cabinets should get a thorough sanding with 120 grit paper but no matter the finish do a final pass with 220 grit. Equipped with 100 grit sandpaper orbital sanders remove surface material from cabinets and doors without going too deep. Primary sanding of rough wood and the removal of planning marks on wood is often best done with medium grit sandpaper. The grit of sandpapers is a rating of the size of abrasive materials on the sandpaper.

The laminate must be in good condition for best results. If the cabinets are stained or coated with a single layer of clear finish you may not need to use paint stripper. Sand the finish from the cabinets trim and drawers with 120 grit sandpaper. A simple product that combines sand or similar abrasive material on a strong backing paper sandpaper is used to smooth surfaces remove rust or paint and can prepare a surface as well.

Heavy grit papers 60 to 80 grit remove material too fast and create scratches that weren t there before. Many woodworkers find they only need to go down to 100 to 120 grit paper with their random orbital sander for surfaces that will be painted or receive a clear finish. Grab your orbital sander and some medium grit sandpaper. You can sand by hand if you would like but your arms will probably get pretty tired.

If your cabinets have a factory finish sand lightly with 120 grit sandpaper or a sanding sponge. Lower grit numbers represent coarser abrasives that scrape off materials much quicker. The higher the grit number is equivalent to a finer abrasive which creates smoother surface finishes. Fine sandpapers range from 120 to 220 grit.

This has a higher grit grading of between p180 and p500 and will not be as effective at removing the majority of a painted surface.