Projects
Pick the job.
We tell you
the climb.
Every project is a different sequence. Floors want 40 → 220. Headlights want 800 → 3000. Drywall wants two grits and a sponge. Find your job — we lay out the sequence, the technique, and the exact SKU at each stage.
20
projects
4
categories
40 → 3000
grit range covered
Wood & furniture
5 jobs.
From raw oak to glass-smooth finish. The grit climb depends on what you're starting with and how far you're going.
Featured
Refinishing oak floors
Three stages, no shortcuts.
Old finish off, scratches gone, grain ready for stain. The climb that takes oak from worn to worth showing off — without leaving a single visible scratch behind.
Stripping and re-staining a dresser
Furniture-grade finish without a chemical stripper.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
price →Prepping raw cabinets for paint
Paint sticks to what you prepared, not what you wished was prepared.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
price →Restoring a wooden cutting board
Bring it back without taking too much off.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
price →Smoothing a deck before re-staining
Single grit. The whole deck. Done before lunch.
Diablo 5-inch 120 Discs
price →What you'll need
Before you start a wood & furniture project — the three we'd reach for first.
3M Pro Grade Precision Assorted Pack
Five grits. One box. Everything you need to finish what you started.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
Clicks in smooth. Finnish-made. Doesn't ask you to stop.
DeWalt DWE6423 5-inch Random Orbital Sander
Variable speed. Built-in dust port. Takes any disc. Does exactly what you tell it.
Metal & tools
2 jobs.
Steel doesn't negotiate. Go coarser than you think, work with the grain, and oil it the moment you stop.
Featured
Removing rust from hand tools
Emery cloth wrapped tight. Done in ten minutes.
Light rust on a chisel, plane, or wrench comes off with emery cloth and a little patience. The roll form is the move — wrap it tight around whatever you're cleaning.
Stage one — reach for
Forney Emery Cloth Roll (120)
Unroll what you need. Wrap it tight. Work it by hand until it's done.
Polishing scratches out of stainless steel
With the grain. Always with the grain.
3M Stikit 426U Roll (120)
price →Drywall & walls
3 jobs.
Two grits and a pole sander. The job people overthink and then finish in an afternoon.
Featured
Sanding drywall mud after taping
Two grits. The whole ceiling. No regrets.
Drywall sanding is a confidence game. Pole sander on the flats, sponge in the corners, and a fine grit final pass that catches what the eye missed.
Smoothing a patched drywall hole
Three feathering passes and it disappears.
3M Angled Sanding Sponges
price →Prepping painted drywall for new paint
A light scuff. That's it.
3M Angled Sanding Sponges
price →Finish & polish
3 jobs.
The part after the rough work. Where the surface stops being sanded and starts being something.
Featured
Sanding between polyurethane coats
A light scuff. Nothing more.
Each coat of poly needs the previous one scuffed for adhesion. The goal isn't to remove material — it's to break the gloss enough that the next coat bonds.
Stage one — reach for
3M Angled Sanding Sponges
Soft on the outside. Firm when it counts. Rinses and comes back for more.
Wet sanding a tabletop to glass-smooth
Three wet grits and a buffer. That's a tabletop you can see yourself in.
3M Wetordry 600–1500 Pack
price →Smoothing cured epoxy resin
Patience. Then more patience.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
price →What you'll need
Before you start a finish & polish project — the three we'd reach for first.
Norton 3X 220-Grit Sandpaper
Where rough gives way to something worth running your fingers across.
3M Wetordry — 3000 Grit
3000. The last step before the surface starts showing off on its own.
Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish
Where the haze goes. The step right before it starts showing off.
The starting point
Start rough.
Finish smooth.
Every climb in this directory starts with one of three things: a coarse sheet, a random orbital disc, or something wet-sandable. Here's what we keep in the shop.
3M Pro Grade Precision Assorted Pack
midFive grits. One box. Everything you need to finish what you started.
Mirka Gold 5-inch Disc Set
proClicks in smooth. Finnish-made. Doesn't ask you to stop.
