Coated abrasives are made of abrasive grains adhered to the surface of flexible or semi-flexible backings such as paper, cloth, vulcanized fiber, plastic films... They are used for DIY as well as industrial applications.

Coated abrasives grit sizes range from very coarse (~2mm) to ultrafine (submicron) . Most grit sizes are standardized at the world level by ISO standards (ISO 6344).

Coated abrasives are used by hand or on machines, applications are extremely varied, at home and in the industry for:

• fine finishes: hand sanding or polishing of wooden cabinets, car bodies primers, metals..

• high precision operations: optical lenses polishing, magnetic heads superfinising..

• medium stock removal with portable or fixed machines: floor sanding, disc grinding of metal, endless belts grinding of wood, metal, glass..

• heavy material removal with wide (up to 3 meters) belts on high power machines (up to 500 HP) to grind stainless steel sheets or coils or to calibrate plywood or chipboards panels.

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