What Sandpaper Grit Should You Use When Repainting Furniture?

For a sound, previously painted or finished piece, the job is to dull the surface so new primer can grip, not to strip it. Benjamin Moore suggests 180–220 grit for a coated table and 100–150 grit for indoor furniture in general. Apartment Therapy suggests a light pass with 120 grit on smooth painted or stained wood.

Coarser grits belong to a different job: removing paint or stubborn varnish. The right furniture sanding grit comes down to the condition of the old finish, your goal, and the prep directions on the new paint or primer.

What Grit Should You Use on Sound, Previously Finished Furniture?

No single furniture sanding grit fits every piece, so match the guide to your piece and goal. Each range below aims to scuff a finish that is still in good shape, not remove it.

Treat these as separate starting points from separate guides. Don't average them or chain them into a sequence. For a table, Benjamin Moore describes a few passes as enough and says you don't need to completely remove the existing coating. If your sandpaper starts cutting through to bare material on a sound finish, you are doing more than these guides call for.

Sometimes you can skip sanding entirely. Bob Vila notes that repainting over an even finish that isn't peeling or flaking may not need sanding at all. That condition is the key check. If the old paint is peeling, flaking, or loose, these light-scuff ranges and the skip option don't describe your situation.

When Should You Use Coarser Grit or Change Grits?

Move to coarser grit only when removal is the real goal, such as taking off several coats of paint or a varnish that won't budge. Scuffing a sound finish and stripping a finish are different jobs, and the grit changes with the job.

For heavy removal, Benjamin Moore's general sandpaper guide lists 40–80 grit as coarse and says that range can take off multiple coats of paint or hard-to-remove varnish. That guide covers painting projects in general, not furniture specifically. It also advises starting coarse and switching to finer paper when a project needs several rounds of sanding. It does not name a single switch point for every job.

Furniture-focused guides describe their own removal sequences:

• Apartment Therapy describes 80, 120, then 220 grit to completely remove paint from an already painted piece that isn't smooth.
• Bob Vila describes starting with 80- to 100-grit paper, then switching to 150 grit or higher to remove any remaining finish and smooth the surface.

Pick one method and follow it through rather than mixing steps from different guides. Each finer step is there to smooth out the coarser step before it. Jumping straight from a coarse removal grit to paint skips that smoothing work. None of these guides gives a specific repair plan for peeling, flaking, or damaged finishes, so decide first whether you are scuffing or stripping before you pick up coarse paper.

How Do the Substrate and New Paint Instructions Affect Grit?

When your new primer or paint lists its own surface prep or grit, follow those directions over any general range in this article. The furniture-repainting guides above deal with previously coated surfaces rather than giving dedicated furniture prep numbers for bare wood, veneer, or laminate. (General painting charts, like Benjamin Moore's, may mention laminate in broader multi-surface tables, but repainting furniture requires following product-specific coating instructions.)

Start by reading the label or product data sheet for the primer and paint you plan to use. If it calls for a specific prep method, use that as your reference and choose sandpaper to match. If it gives no grit and your piece is a sound, coated surface, the starting points in the first section apply. If the piece is bare, veneered, or laminate, and the coating directions don't address it, the ranges here weren't written for that material.

Before you sand the whole piece, try your planned grit on a hidden spot, such as the back of a leg or the underside of a top. Watch what comes off. If you only meant to dull the surface but the existing finish or the material beneath it starts wearing away, stop and rethink the grit or the plan before you go on. The same check works whether you sand by hand or use a power tool. If you're sanding tight spots by machine, our guide to choosing a detail sander explains how to match pad shape to furniture corners and profiles.

FAQs

Do I need to sand furniture down to bare wood before repainting?

Not when the existing finish is sound. Benjamin Moore's table guide says it isn't necessary to completely remove the existing coating. The aim is a dull surface that primer can grip. Full removal is a separate project with its own coarser grit sequence.

Why do different guides recommend different grits?

They cover different pieces and goals. One Benjamin Moore guide is written for tables, another for indoor furniture in general, and Apartment Therapy's advice is for smooth painted or stained wood. Choose the guide closest to your piece and stick with its range instead of blending numbers.

Does a lower grit number mean coarser sandpaper?

Yes. Benjamin Moore's sandpaper chart groups 40–80 grit as coarse and ties it to heavy jobs like stripping multiple paint coats. Higher numbers are finer, which is why light scuffing of a sound finish uses higher grits and removal starts lower.

Can I put new paint straight over old paint without sanding?

Sometimes. Bob Vila says you may be able to skip sanding when the old painted finish is still even and isn't peeling or flaking. If your new primer or paint calls for sanding or another prep step, follow that instead.