1. WORKPRO 150-Piece Sanding Discs — ten grits, one cheap box
Reach for this pack if you sand around the house — decks, doors before a coat of paint, filler on a patched wall. You get 150 discs across ten grits, from coarse 60 for knocking back rough timber to fine 600 for the last passes. The number stamped on the back is the grit: low numbers are coarse and cut fast, high numbers are fine and leave a smooth surface. Having the full range in one box means you’re never stuck mid-job without the grade you need, and at this price you can throw a clogged disc away instead of nursing it.
The discs are 125mm with eight dust holes punched in them — the holes line up with your sander’s pad so it pulls the dust down through them. That 125mm eight-hole shape is the standard fitting, so it drops onto most random orbital sanders, the Bosch EasyOrbit included; check the holes match your pad before you buy. The paper won’t last as long as a premium disc under heavy use, but for weekend jobs you’ve got plenty to spare. Joel reckons this is where most people should begin, and pay up for premium discs only when a job earns it.
2. Mirka Abranet Ace HD — the dust-free upgrade
If you sand often, or you hate the mess, the Abranet is the step up. Instead of paper with a few holes, the whole disc is a fine net — a mesh — so the sander pulls dust through the entire face instead of a handful of punched holes. Less dust clogging the abrasive means it keeps cutting, and the Ace HD uses a ceramic grit on a reinforced net that holds up to paint, filler and hardwood far longer than standard paper. On a sander hooked up to a vacuum, it’s about as tidy as sanding gets — and cleaner air is the point as much as the finish.
Two things to know before you buy. Mirka sells Abranet by the grit, 25 discs to a pack, so you buy the grades you sand with — a coarse one for knocking back, a medium for general work, a fine one for finishing. And it costs a lot more per disc than the WORKPRO. Matt would run these on a job he cares about and keep a cheap pack alongside for rough work; that’s the sensible split. The mesh grips any hook-and-loop pad, so the hole pattern is one thing you don’t have to match here.
3. Bosch 25-Piece Sanding Sheet Set — the small quality set
There’s no sense owning 150 discs that go stale in a drawer if you only sand twice a year. For the shed that would rather a small set from a brand it knows, this Bosch pack covers a single job cleanly — a 25-piece set in three grits (80, 120 and 240) plus a lambswool bonnet for polishing once the sanding’s done. The bonnet is the bit the others leave out: it clips onto the same pad and buffs a waxed or painted surface up, so it both sands and polishes.
The catch is the maths. You’re paying more for the Bosch set than for 150 discs in the WORKPRO box, and you get three grits instead of ten. That’s the trade for a known brand and the polishing bonnet — fair if you sand rarely and want it tidy, poor value if you sand a lot. The discs are 125mm universal-fit hook-and-loop, so check the hole pattern lines up with your pad before you buy.
Matching the disc to the job
Two things decide whether a disc works for you: the grit and the fit. Work up through the grits instead of jumping straight to fine — a coarse disc (60–80) takes the rough off, a medium one (120–180) clears the coarse scratches, and a fine one (240 and up) leaves the surface ready to paint or oil. Skip a step and the scratches from the coarse disc show through the finish. For fit, match the disc size and hole pattern to your sander’s pad — 125mm with eight holes suits most sanders, and a mesh disc like the Abranet sidesteps the hole question, since the dust pulls through the whole mesh and there are no holes to line up.
And wear a P2 mask. Sanding throws a cloud of fine dust: wood dust irritates the lungs, and sanding old paint, filler or masonry can release silica, which WorkSafe Victoria rates as a serious health hazard. A dust box or a vac hose keeps most of it down, but a P2 mask is cheap insurance on top.
If a pack shows up faulty — discs shedding their grit on a first light pass, or backing that won’t grip the pad — that’s on the maker. Australian Consumer Law may entitle you to a repair, replacement or refund, so hold onto the receipt.
The verdict
You want one box that covers everything: the WORKPRO 150-piece. Ten grits, a price that lets you throw a clogged disc away, and the standard 125mm eight-hole fit — the pick for anyone whose sanding stays occasional to regular.
You sand often or want the cleanest job: the Mirka Abranet Ace HD. The mesh keeps the dust down and the ceramic grit keeps cutting far longer, and it grips any pad — buy the grits you use and keep a cheap pack alongside for rough work.
You sand now and then and want a known brand: the Bosch 25-piece set. Fewer discs for more money, but a tidy three-grit range and a polishing bonnet the others skip.
Whichever you pick, buy for how much you sand — a cheap bulk pack is money well spent on occasional jobs, and premium mesh earns its keep once the sander’s out most weekends.
