A coated abrasive is an abrasive grain bonded to a flexible substrate using adhesive

Adhesive

An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...

s. Common substrates are paper

Paper

Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

, cloth, vulcanized fiber, and plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

 films and come in grit sizes range from very coarse (~2 mm) to ultrafine

Ultrafine particles

Ultrafine particles are nanoscale, less than 100 nanometres. Regulations do not exist for this size class of ambient air pollution particles, which are far smaller than the regulated PM10 and PM2.5 size classes and are believed to have several more aggressive health implications than those classes...

 (submicrometre

Micrometre

A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...

). The international standard

International standard

International standards are standards developed by international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use, worldwide...

 for coated abrasives is ISO 6344

ISO 6344

ISO 6344 is an international standard covering the materials sizes and tests regarding sandpaper and other similar coated abrasives.It has three parts:* ISO 6344-1:1998: Coated abrasives, sizes and tests.* ISO 6344-2:1998: Macrogrit, P12 to P220...

.

Sandpaper

Sandpaper

Sandpaper, also known as glasspaper, is a heavy paper with abrasive material attached to its surface.Sandpaper is part of the "coated abrasives" family of abrasive products. It is used to remove small amounts of material from surfaces, either to make them smoother , to remove a layer of material...

 and emery

Emery (mineral)

Emery is a very hard rock type used to make abrasive powder. It largely consists of the mineral corundum , mixed with other species such as the iron-bearing spinels hercynite and magnetite, and also rutile...

 cloth are coated abrasives for hand use, usually non-precision. These two terms are used by general public in place of "coated abrasives".

Other coated abrasive forms include sanding cords, pads, belts, and discs. Variants are available for use by hand or as components for power tool

Power tool

A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labour used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air are also commonly used...

s such as sander

Sander

A sander is a power tool used to smooth wood and automotive or wood finishes by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodworking sanders are usually...

s, die grinder

Die grinder

A die grinder is a handheld power tool used to grind, sand, hone, polish, or machine material, typically metal but also plastic or wood. They are usually pneumatically driven, although versions with electric and flexible shaft drive also exist...

s and belt sander

Belt sander

A belt sander is a machine used to sand down wood and other materials for finishing purposes. It consists of an electrical motor that turns a pair of drums on which a seamless loop of sandpaper is mounted. Belt sanders can be either hand-held, where the sander is moved over the material, or...

s

History

The first recorded use of a coated abrasive is from the 13th Century, when the Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 bonded crushed sea shells to parchment

Parchment

Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...

 using natural gum

Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...

.

Quick change

A quick change system is commonly used with disc type coated abrasives. A plastic or metal hub is bonded to one of the faces, which is threaded. This then mates directly to the sander

Sander

A sander is a power tool used to smooth wood and automotive or wood finishes by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodworking sanders are usually...

/grinder or to a mandrel that can be mounted in a sander, grinder, or drill

Drill

A drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of...

. The advantage is that the disc can be quickly replaced when needed. Quick change discs range in sizes from 50 millimetres (2 in) to no upper limit.