Here’s the breakdown according to the guy from Lowe’s:

If you are going to do any heavy duty sanding than you will need to buy a belt sander. These are a lot more difficult to control, which increases the risk of damaging wood,  but they sand things down a lot faster.

A finishing sander is used for pieces that don’t need any major stripping. They allow for greater control, especially in the hands of a novice. We opted for the finishing sander since it has a wide face to cover a lot of surface area and a pointed tip to facilitate sanding in tiny crevices.

Another interesting fact: The grade of the sand paper refers to the coarseness of the particles. A low grade paper contains thicker particles while a higher grade consists of finer particles.

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