Shop All Abrasive - Wire Brushes - Hand Pads

Masterman's carries abrasives as part of the facilities maintenance and supplies category — the everyday industrial abrasive products that maintenance departments need as reorder items alongside their other MRO supplies. Browse the current selection at mastermans.com/catsearch/137/abrasives for available products and specifications.

Industrial Abrasives for Facility Maintenance

The abrasives at Masterman's cover the core surface prep and maintenance grinding tasks that facilities teams encounter routinely:

• Sanding sheets — for hand sanding and flat surface preparation before painting, coating, or bonding in maintenance environments. Available in a range of grits for coarse material removal through fine finishing passes.
• Sanding pads — flexible pad construction for contoured surface sanding and hand-held power tool applications. Sanding pads conform to irregular surfaces better than rigid sanding blocks, making them practical for maintenance sanding of equipment frames, fixtures, and structural elements.
• Abrasive scouring pads — for surface cleaning, rust removal, and light grinding on metal, equipment surfaces, and tooling without the aggressive material removal of coarse grit sandpaper. Scouring pads are the standard choice for maintenance cleaning tasks where the goal is surface preparation and contamination removal rather than dimensional material removal.

For more demanding industrial abrasive requirements — grinding wheels, flap discs, cutting discs, sanding belts — contact Masterman's at 800-525-3313 to discuss availability and sourcing options beyond the standard stocked selection.

Browse abrasives at Masterman's

Abrasive Grit Guide — Selecting the Right Coarseness

Abrasive grit is the single most important selection parameter for sanding and surface prep work. Grit numbers run from coarse (low number) to fine (high number) — the particle size decreases as the grit number increases, producing progressively finer scratch patterns and smoother surface finishes.

• Coarse grit (40–60 grit) — rapid material removal, rust removal, paint stripping, shaping. Leaves visible scratches. Used as the first pass on heavily contaminated or rough surfaces.
• Medium grit (80–120 grit) — general surface preparation, blending, removing scratches from coarse sanding. The standard grit range for most maintenance prep work.
• Fine grit (150–220 grit) — pre-finish sanding, light surface smoothing, removing light rust or oxidation. Leaves a surface ready for primer or coating.
• Very fine grit (320–400+ grit) — finishing and polishing passes on already-smooth surfaces. Used for final passes before paint or when a smooth surface is the end result.

Most maintenance sanding tasks start at 80–120 grit and work up to 150–220 grit for pre-coating prep. Coarser grits are used when removing existing coatings, heavy rust, or significant surface contamination.

Abrasive Applications in Industrial Facilities

• Pre-paint surface preparation — sanding metal, concrete, or wood surfaces before applying coatings, primers, or sealers to ensure adhesion
• Rust and corrosion removal — medium to coarse grit abrasives for removing surface rust from steel fixtures, frames, and equipment before re-coating
• Deburring metal components — after cutting or drilling, sanding the cut edges to remove burrs that create cut hazards for workers handling the parts
• Equipment and tooling cleaning — scouring pads for removing grease buildup, oxidation, and contamination from machinery and equipment surfaces between maintenance cycles
• Welding prep and post-weld finishing — removing mill scale before welding and cleaning weld spatter and oxidation after welding

For surface cleaning with wipers alongside abrasive surface prep, see industrial wipers and shop rags at Masterman's.

See the full facilities maintenance and supplies selection at Masterman's — tape, wipers, safety knives, lubricants, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What abrasive products does Masterman's carry?

Masterman's abrasives category covers sanding sheets, sanding pads, and abrasive scouring pads for facility maintenance, surface prep, and general industrial applications. Browse the current selection at mastermans.com/catsearch/137/abrasives or call 800-525-3313 to discuss additional abrasive requirements.

Q2. What grit sandpaper should I use for surface prep before painting?

For surface preparation before painting metal or concrete in a facility maintenance context, start with 80–120 grit to remove contamination and provide a mechanical key for adhesion, then finish with 150–220 grit to smooth the surface before primer application.

Q3. What is the difference between sanding sheets and sanding pads?

Sanding sheets are flat, rigid-backed abrasive sheets for hand sanding or sheet-form sanding applications on flat surfaces. Sanding pads are flexible foam or sponge-backed abrasive pads that conform to curved and contoured surfaces — more practical for sanding irregular shapes, equipment frames, and non-flat surfaces common in maintenance applications.

Q4. What are abrasive scouring pads used for industrially?

Industrial abrasive scouring pads are used for surface cleaning, light rust removal, oxidation removal, and equipment cleaning where the goal is surface decontamination and preparation rather than material removal. They are the standard maintenance tool for preparing metal surfaces between coating cycles and cleaning grease and oxidation from equipment.

Q5. What grit is best for rust removal?

Coarse grit (40–80 grit) provides the fastest rust removal from metal surfaces. After removing the rust, step up to medium grit (100–120) to smooth the surface, then fine grit (150–220) before applying any protective coating or primer.

Q6. Does Masterman's carry abrasives for welding prep?

Yes. Sanding sheets and abrasive pads at Masterman's cover welding prep applications — removing mill scale before welding and cleaning weld oxidation and spatter post-weld. Contact Masterman's at 800-525-3313 for specific product recommendations for welding prep in your environment.

Q7. Does Masterman's ship abrasives same day?

Yes. In-stock abrasives ship same day from Masterman's Auburn, MA warehouse to New England customers across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

Q8. Can I order abrasives with no minimum order?

Yes. No order minimums on abrasives at Masterman's. Order the quantity your maintenance team needs. Credit terms available for qualifying business accounts. Call 800-525-3313.

Q9. Does Masterman's carry grinding wheels or cutting discs?

The standard abrasives category at Masterman's covers sanding sheets, pads, and scouring products for facility maintenance. For grinding wheels, flap discs, or cutting discs, contact Masterman's at 800-525-3313 to discuss availability and sourcing options for more specialized abrasive tooling.

Q10. Where can I buy industrial abrasives in New England?

Masterman's stocks industrial abrasives with same-day shipping from Auburn, MA to customers across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. No minimums. Browse at mastermans.com/catsearch/137/abrasives or call 800-525-3313.