Skipping grits is costing you time — here's the right sequence

There are two ways grit sequencing goes wrong in a wood shop. The first is jumping too aggressively - skipping steps to save time and ending with scratch patterns that show right through the finish. The second is moving too conservatively, burning through belts and labor on steps that didn't need to be there.

Getting the progression right isn't complicated, but it does require understanding what each stage is actually supposed to accomplish - and what it's handing off to the next step.

The logic behind progression

The general rule is that each grit jump should be roughly 1.5 to 2 times the previous number. So a sequence might run 60 → 100 → 150 → 220, depending on where you're starting and where you need to land. Each step removes the scratch pattern left by the step before it - which means if you skip a step, you're asking the next grit to do twice the work, and it usually can't.

When you can skip a step - and when you can't

There are situations where a step can be compressed or skipped without consequence. If you're starting on a surface that's already been through a rough pass and just needs refinement, beginning at 100 instead of 60 is perfectly reasonable. If the wood is straight from the planer with minimal milling marks, you might open at 120.

What you can't compress is the end of the sequence. The closer you get to a finish-ready surface, the more each scratch pattern matters. Jumping from 100 to 220 to save a step will leave ghost scratches that only show up once stain or clear coat goes on - and at that point, you're sanding back and starting over.

A useful field test: Rake a light across the surface at a low angle after each step. If you can still see the previous scratch pattern, you haven't finished that stage yet. If the surface looks uniform, you're ready to move. It takes 10 seconds and saves real time downstream.