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Sandpaper for an orbital sander: buying guide

Updated: 21 October 2026

You own a random orbital or round-pad sander and need a fresh disc pack. On amazon.co.uk the titles blur: hook-and-loop, eight holes, stars, and prices under £10. Sandpaper for an orbital sander must match the pad before grit or brand. The wrong size still sticks, blocks extraction, or overhangs and gouges a corner. This guide covers diameter, holes or mesh, grain, and a count you can verify. Peter F. read eleven amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices stay on the [sandpaper orbital sander comparison](/hub/sanders/sandpaper-orbital-sander).

You own a random orbital or round-pad sander and need a fresh disc pack. On amazon.co.uk the titles blur: hook-and-loop, eight holes, stars, and prices under £10.

Our top picks

VKMKM VKMKM 106-piece 125 mm 8-hole discs

Best overall

VKMKM VKMKM 106-piece 125 mm 8-hole discs
9.4/10about £8.99
View offer
WORKPRO WORKPRO 150-piece 125 mm discs

Rank 2

WORKPRO WORKPRO 150-piece 125 mm discs
9.6/10about £11.89
View offer
TPmax TPmax 100-piece 150 mm 6-hole discs

Rank 3

TPmax TPmax 100-piece 150 mm 6-hole discs
8.8/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Match the pad diameter
  2. 2.Holes, mesh, or a blocked port
  3. 3.Grain and a pack count you can verify
  4. 4.What to ignore on the listing

Match the pad diameter

Most UK palm sanders use 125 mm, the same as 5 inch. Larger machines take 150 mm (6 inch). A 150 mm disc has roughly forty-four per cent more area, because area follows the radius squared. On a smaller pad the disc overhangs and the unsupported edge can dig into timber. Listings disagree with themselves. TPmax at £19.99 is a 150 mm six-hole pack, yet an included-components line can still say 125 mm. Measure the pad before you buy. 225 mm discs suit long-neck, drywall, or track sanders. AMFUN here is 225 mm P40 at about £11.99. It will not sit safely on a 125 mm hook pad. If you cannot name your pad size, stop before any multipack.

Holes, mesh, or a blocked port

With extraction, dust runs through pad holes and matching disc holes. HSE sheet WD7 expects punched discs to be aligned. Most budget packs here are eight-hole 125 mm: NOOKEYA at £6.99, Aucenix at £7.99, and VKMKM at £8.99. Hooks can hold when holes miss the ports. Mesh is the exception. SI FANG and Ruidawin sit near £15.88–£15.99. Dust crosses the open face, so alignment differs, and mesh does not replace Class M or H extraction. See mesh versus paper. Festool 8+1 layouts are not generic eight-hole rings. Bullets that name Makita, DeWalt, Bosch, and Ryobi mean common 125 mm eight-hole pads, not every sub-model.
VKMKM VKMKM 106-piece 125 mm 8-hole discs

Testsieger

VKMKM VKMKM 106-piece 125 mm 8-hole discs
9.4/10about £8.99
View offer

Grain and a pack count you can verify

Aluminium oxide is the usual named grain on punched mixed packs for dry wood. Silicon carbide suits wet-and-dry. KONGMING at £15.99 claims wet-and-dry, but the grain fields conflict. Ceramic counts only when the word appears. Gold or red colour is not a mineral. Grit steps belong on sandpaper orbital sander grit. A single-grit title is not a mixed box. SI FANG’s 80-grit mesh listing is where review text and today’s title can diverge. Goysen titles 210 discs at £17.99 while the unit-count field can read 1. WORKPRO’s 150-piece pack at £11.89 lines up. When fields conflict, do not invent a number. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies when goods miss the description. Wood-dust limits are 3 mg/m³ for hardwood and 5 mg/m³ for softwood over eight hours. A fitting disc is not extraction. Technique sits on how to use sandpaper on an orbital sander.

What to ignore on the listing

A score of 5.0 from three reviews beside WORKPRO at 4.6 from 18,484 shows how little stars tell you about hole fit. After the pad matches, punched 125 mm mixed packs start under £10, mesh and wet-and-dry sit near £16, and TPmax at £19.99 suits 150 mm only. Mesh costs roughly £7–£9 more than the cheapest punched box here, which is not a tested longevity gain. Before checkout, confirm diameter, holes or mesh, grain, and a verifiable count.

Common questions

Will 125 mm discs fit a 5 inch pad?
Yes. Five inch and 125 mm describe the same pad size on most UK listings. The risk is the other way round: buying 150 mm or 225 mm because the title also says orbital without checking your pad.
Do the holes have to line up?
On punched discs used with extraction, yes. WD7 expects aligned holes so dust can pass through. Mesh discs behave differently because dust moves across the face; you still need airflow and a hook pad that suits mesh.
Can I put a 150 mm disc on a 125 mm sander?
You should not treat that as a workable shortcut. The disc overhangs the pad, area is much larger than the backing supports, and control suffers. Buy 125 mm for a 125 mm pad, or upgrade the pad and machine if you genuinely need 150 mm.
Are 225 mm discs for a palm random orbital?
No. A 225 mm disc is for long-reach or wall systems such as the AMFUN listing in this set, not a compact palm sander with a 125 mm hook face. Diameter is the first filter before you read grit or price.
Does a brand list mean every pad those makers sold?
A line that names Makita, DeWalt, Bosch, and Ryobi means common eight-hole 125 mm hook pads, not every sub-model or a Festool 8+1 layout. Measure your pad or read the manual hole diagram if you are unsure.
What if the title says 210 discs and the unit count says 1?
Treat that as an unresolved listing conflict. Do not calculate cost per disc or assume the larger number is what Amazon will ship until the fields agree. Goysen in this comparison is the example to watch.
Which grain name matters: aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, or gold colour?
The words aluminium oxide and silicon carbide describe minerals. Gold or red colour is finish, not a grain you can compare. Read the specification line; ignore colour unless ceramic or another grain is actually named.

Related pages

Best sanding discs for an orbital sander

Sandpaper orbital sander

Orbital sander grit guide for wood, filler and paint

How to use sandpaper on an orbital sander, step by step

Mesh sanding discs vs paper for a UK orbital sander

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE — Wood dust (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE — WD7 Hand-held powered sanders (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE — Cutting and sanding wood (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. ISO 6344-3:2021 coated abrasives (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Klingspor — How abrasive grains wear (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Mirka — Abranet net abrasive (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. FEPA — P12 to P220 grains (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk hook-and-loop disc listings (retrieved 19 October 2026)