What Grit to Use for Ceramic Tiles

Sanding and smoothing the edge of a ceramic tile during preparation before installation.

Peter Yusuf - Jan 28, 2026

Planning a renovation with ceramic tiles and not sure what is the right grit choice? This blog will clear all your doubts about using the right grit for tiling projects particularly if you are dealing with ceramic tiles for your makeover project.

Gritting is an important process that is crucial for achieving a smooth, polished and durable finish that gives your tiles the best embellished look.

Hence, gritting is more than just sanding your tiles. Proper gritting of your ceramic tiles smoothes the rough edges after cutting, removes imperfections, prepares the surface for applying adhesives and polishes the glossy surfaces.

Improper gritting or using the wrong grit on the other hand can damage the glaze, scratch the tiles and make the ceramic tiles edges uneven.

So, let’s explore the right way of gritting ceramic tiles and using the right grit.

Why Using the Right Grit Matters for Ceramic Tiles?

The right grit plays an important role for ceramic tiles to achieve a professional look. Here’s why using the right grit for ceramic tiles is so crucial:

The right gritting process for ceramic tiles helps to ensure surface smoothness and enhances the finish quality.
It helps to achieve better results when applying adhesives for grouting, coating and sealants.
Helps to avoid uneven tile edges, chips and remove imperfections.
Enhances durability and helps in longevity.

Even small mistakes during the process can compromise the quality especially in high-traffic areas like kitchen tiles and bathrooms.

Grit Guide for Ceramic Tiles as per the Tile Task

Different nature of tile tasks demand different grit requirements. Hence, follow this guide properly to ensure a smooth finish when dealing with ceramic tiles.

For Cutting Ceramic Tiles

Here’s the right grit guide for cutting ceramic tiles:

Use Diamond blades: Diamond blades are the better choice over sandpaper for cutting ceramic tiles.
Grit level: Typically use 100–200 grit for dry-cutting ceramic tiles.

Using this helps to get clean tile edges and cuts and helps to avoid chipping of tiles.

Doing this helps to avoid rough edges and prepares the ceramic tiles for proper installation.

For Sanding or Smoothing Ceramic Tile Edges

The best way to go about sanding or smoothing ceramic tile edges is to start coarse and finish in a fine manner.

For this task, it is recommended to: Begin with 80–100 grit for rough ceramic tile edges.

Next, you can progress to 220–400 grit for smooth and polished tile edges.

Polishing is an important step as it helps to prevent the scratching of tile glazes and also improves safety while handling the tiles.

The whole purpose behind doing this is to avoid imperfections and get a smooth finish.

Polishing Ceramic Tiles

For the final touches to make it look as if the task was handled by a professional tiler, polishing ceramic tiles is recommended.

For the Final polish: Use 600–1200 grit for glossy ceramic finishes.

The Light buffing of ceramic tiles enhances shine, removes micro-scratches and restores original tile surface look.

The Right Grit for Ceramic Tiles by Type and Location

This quick grit guide should make your task easier as it clearly highlights the recommended grits for different types of ceramic tiles and the nature of the task that you are undertaking.

To help you understand why it matters, the benefits have also been highlighted in the table for easier understanding.

Tile Type

Task

Recommended Grit

Purpose / Benefit

Standard ceramic tile

Edge smoothing

80–220

Smooths rough tile edges and minimizes the chipping

Glossy ceramic tile

Polishing tiles

400–1200

Restores shine, removes micro-scratches on the tiles

Textured ceramic tile

Light sanding / preparation

100–400

Prepares tile surface for adhesion, eliminates imperfections

Floor ceramic tile

Buffing after tile installation

600+

Improves tile surface smoothness, improves durability

Mistakes to Avoid while Gritting Ceramic Tiles

Dealing with tiles requires treading each step carefully so that you don’t end up damaging your tiles and getting the right finishing.

After all, you don’t want to be left with a scratchy surface that isn’t befitting of the perfect look that you were hoping to achieve.

Avoid making these mistakes if you want the best results:

Never use too coarse grit on glossy ceramic surfaces as it may lead to unwanted irreparable scratches.
Gritting is not a process that you should do hastily. So, do not skip the important progressive grit steps unless you want uneven edges which is a different nightmare.
Handle gritting carefully, excessive pressure will do you no good and is not required. Too much pressure leads to glaze chips and dulls.
Finally, never ignore the tile type and surface while gritting as it reduces the lifespan and longevity of the process.

Conclusion

If you follow these steps properly, you won’t have to worry about a failed gritting task and ensure that you have a smooth finish.

Just note that you have to start coarse for the rough work, progress to finer grits for the finishing part and match grit to the ceramic tile type.

For more expert consultation and tile purchasing guide, visit Royal Tiles, the largest tile showroom in Sydney, home to the most exclusive bathroom tiles, kitchen tiles, pool tiles and exterior tiles collection curated for all kinds of private and commercial tiling projects.

We offer the best tiles in Sydney and our tile experts will help you choose the right tiles for every renovation and construction project.

Peter Yusuf

Peter Yusuf is a seasoned Sales and Business Development Manager at Royal Tiles in Sydney, Australia, with a proven track record of success in the global architectural and interior design sectors. With over a decade of experience, he possesses a rich understanding of tile selection and design that has helped countless clients transform their spaces. Peter's expertise spans a wide array of materials and styles, positioning him as a trusted authority in the tile industry.

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What Grit to Use for Ceramic Tiles:
The Right Grit Choice for Every Tile Project

Why Using the Right Grit Matters for Ceramic Tiles?