Sanding Belts

RED LABEL ABRASIVES PREMIUM-QUALITY SANDING BELTS

Red Label Abrasives is a family-owned abrasive manufacturer that has been producing premium-quality abrasives for over 35 years. Our sanding belts are designed to be affordable, effective, and long-lasting. Sanding belts are available in a variety of sizes from ¼” x 18” all the way up to 60” x 360” and beyond (popular sizes include 2 x 72, 2 x 42, 1 x 30, 2 x 48, 3 x 18,  4 x 36, and 4 x 24). Red Label offers sandpaper belts in several different abrasive grains and backings on our online store. Regardless of your application, we have the belts you need to finish your piece to perfection. 

WHAT TYPE OF ABRASIVE GRAIN DO I NEED FOR MY SANDING BELTS?

Red Label Abrasives offers grinding belts in four different types of abrasive grains: ceramic, zirconia, silicon carbide, open coat aluminum oxide, and closed coat aluminum oxide. The best abrasive grain for your needs will depend on your application. 

Open Coat Aluminum Oxide

Open coat aluminum oxide works great for softer woods. The open coating leaves more space between abrasive grains, which allows for increased air flow. This keeps sanding surfaces cool and also helps prevent the belt from clogging up with sanding debris.

Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide is a specialty abrasive grain that is commonly used to finish heat sensitive applications. Silicon carbide is regularly used to sand marble, garnet, and glass.

Ceramic, Zirconia, & Closed Coat Aluminum Oxide

Ceramic, zirconia, and closed coat aluminum oxide are all designed to work well with hardwoods and metals. Closed coat aluminum oxide has the shortest lifespan and ceramic has the longest. Zirconia sits in-between ceramic and closed coat aluminum oxide in terms of price and longevity. If you’re working with hardwood or metal, we would recommend ceramic as the best bang for your buck. 

You can read our Abrasive 101 guide to get a full comparison on each type of abrasive grain. 

WHICH TYPE OF ABRASIVE SANDING BELT BACKING IS BEST FOR MY APPLICATION? 

Red Label Abrasives offers grinding belts with paper or cloth/polyester backings. Paper backings are the lightest and most popular backing options. What paper lacks in strength it makes up for in affordability. Cloth is more expensive than paper, but it’s also more durable. Cloth is worth the investment if you plan on grinding or finishing with applications that involve a lot of bending and flexing in the belt. Cloth belts can also be washed to help extend their lifespan. You can read more about the differences between cloth and paper backings in our post on abrasive backings. 

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT SIZE SANDING BELT I NEED?

Don’t know what size sander belt you need? There are easy ways to determine the right size for your belt sander. 

If you have an old belt laying around, you can cut the belt at the seam and lay it out flat to measure the length and width. If you don’t have an old belt, you can wrap a string around your belt sander the same way you’d wrap your belt around the sander. You can cut the string where it wraps around to touch the end of the string and measure the length to determine the right belt length. You can also measure the width of the belt wheel to find the correct width for your belt sandpaper.  

COMMON APPLICATIONS & INDUSTRIES FOR SANDING BELTS

Sanding belts and belt sanders can be used for many different applications across several industries. We serve all makers in need of sandpaper belts, but we've also included some common industries and applications where our belt sander paper is used below.

Knife Making & Bladesmithing

Sanding belts are commonly used in the production of knives, axes, swords, and other bladed tools (for stock removal, sharpening, profiling, polishing, and more). Red Label Manufactures an entire line of sanding belt kits specifically for knife making. We tend to recommend our EdgeCore ceramic belts for blades, but the best belt for you will depend on your application.

Auto Body Work

Our sanding belts are used in auto garages and auto shops around the country. Our air file sanding belts are often used to sand welds, remove paint or powder coats, and more. We offer both aluminum oxide and zirconia air file belts.

Furniture Production

Red Label Abrasives was founded near Furniture City and we're proud to serve furniture producers. Our belt sander belts are used to shape parts for wooden furniture. Our furniture makers often use our open coat aluminum oxide sanding belts for shaping and sanding wood parts.

Musical Instrument Production

We provide sanding belts for a wide variety of musical instrument makers from guitar manufacturers to piano makers. Those making wooden musical instruments tend to prefer our open coat aluminum oxide sanding belts.

Not sure if belt sanding is the right fit for your application? Our abrasive technicians can help point you towards the abrasives that will be best for your needs. 

WHY BUY GRINDING BELTS FROM RED LABEL ABRASIVES?

Red Label Abrasives has been considered an industry leader in sandpaper belt production for over 35 years. Our belt grinder belts are some of the most effective and longest-lasting belts on the market. We're also able to offer our industrial grade belts at some of the most affordable prices on the web, because we are the manufacturer and we ship factory direct.

As a continuation of our commitment to affordable pricing for all makers, Red Label offers free shipping on all orders. Red Label is one of the only abrasive manufacturer to offer free shipping on all orders.

Red Label is a family-owned manufacturer. All of our belts are produced here in the United States and we take great pride in offering unrivaled customer service and support. Our abrasive technicians can assist you in finding the right products, placing an order, answering questions about your order, or helping you troubleshoot your grinding setup.

We know you'll love our belt sander belts if you give them a try. We're so confident that we offer a 90 day 100% money-back guarantee on any products purchased from our online store. Thousands of satisfied makers use our products and you can see reviews from real makers below each product.

GRINDING BELT QUESTIONS? CONTACT OUR ABRASIVE SPECIALISTS

If you have questions about sanding belts, some of our other abrasive products, or Red Label Abrasives, our abrasive specialists would be more than happy to help! We are here to serve you. Please call (844) 824-1956 or send an email by filling out a contact form to speak with an abrasive technician.