About Matt Lipman
Matt Lipman is the CEO of Capstone Holding Corp (NASDAQ: CAPS), an industrial materials company whose portfolio includes Virginia Abrasives — one of North America's leading sandpaper and abrasives manufacturers. Matt has spent over two decades in the building products and abrasives industry, working directly with the manufacturers, distributors, and professional contractors who use these products every day.
In addition to running Capstone, Matt serves on the board of Virginia Abrasives, where he works closely with the product development and quality control teams. That access gives him a level of insight into abrasive performance, manufacturing standards, and real-world durability that most product reviewers simply don't have. When he writes about the difference between aluminum oxide and ceramic abrasives, or why cloth backing matters on a drum sander sheet, it comes from years of direct experience — not secondhand research.
Why This Site Exists
Professional Sandpaper Guide exists because most sandpaper advice on the internet is generic, inaccurate, or written by people who have never operated a drum sander. Matt built this site to provide the kind of honest, specific, expert guidance that contractors and serious DIYers actually need — the same advice he'd give a friend refinishing their first hardwood floor.
Every article on this site is written with a specific reader in mind: someone standing in a rental shop, staring at a wall of sandpaper options, trying to figure out which grit to start with and how many sheets to buy. The goal is to answer that question clearly and correctly, every time.
What Makes This Site Different
Three things separate Professional Sandpaper Guide from generic home improvement content. First, the recommendations align with NWFA (National Wood Flooring Association) standards — the same standards professional floor refinishers follow. Second, every product recommendation is specific: exact grit, exact size, exact machine compatibility. No vague "buy the right sandpaper for your project" filler. Third, Matt discloses his financial relationship with Virginia Abrasives upfront. He has a stake in their success, and he's transparent about it — but if a competitor's product is better for a specific job, he says so.
Expertise and Background
Matt's professional background spans industrial materials manufacturing and distribution, abrasive products development and quality standards, construction and flooring industry compliance (including NWFA guidelines), professional contractor relationships and field feedback, and technical product specifications and performance testing. This expertise informs every article on the site, ensuring that recommendations reflect real-world experience and manufacturer-level understanding of sandpaper performance.
Start Here: Best Articles
If you're new to floor sanding or sandpaper selection, these three articles cover the essentials:
- Sandpaper Grit Chart for Floor Sanding — The complete grit progression reference. Print it and take it to the rental shop. Includes a downloadable PDF, machine compatibility, and sheet counts by room size.
- How to Sand Hardwood Floors with a Rental Sander — Step-by-step from prep through final buffer screening. Shopping list, NWFA grit sequence, and the 5 most common mistakes to avoid.
- Best Sandpaper for Hardwood Floor Refinishing — Product guide comparing Virginia Abrasives, Norton, and 3M drum sander sheets, edger discs, and buffer pads by grit and machine.
Financial Disclosure
In the interest of complete transparency: Matt has a financial relationship with Virginia Abrasives as a board member of Capstone Holding Corp, which controls Virginia Abrasives. Additionally, this site participates in the Amazon Associates program and may earn commissions on products purchased through our links.
Our commitment: Despite these financial relationships, reviews and recommendations are based on product quality, performance, and appropriateness for the job. If a competitor's product is superior for a specific application, we recommend it. The goal is to earn trust through honest guidance that serves readers' interests first.
Read the full Affiliate Disclosure and Terms of Service for details about editorial independence and how we operate.
Contact
Have a question about sandpaper selection or floor sanding technique? Found an error in one of our guides? Reach out through the contact information on the Capstone Holding Corp website. Matt reads every message and responds to technical questions personally.