Steel Wool Grades and What is a S.O.S Pad Grade

[Hcb3200]

In reviewing the pantina prep forums and web sites.
I saw several on using steel wool and scotch-brite pads etc. Mostly of the finest grades. Some using S.O.S Pads.
That got me questioning a lot of thing since I know the use of steel wool for wood work as well as some metal prep.
So here are some fine and ultra fine details on what is what.

First of S.O.S Pads are a BLEND not a single grade steel wool.
Direct from manufacture because I asked.

"
Thank you for contacting us at S.O.S.

I am happy to assist you. S.O.S steel wool soap pads are manufactured with a blend using grades 0 and 1. There are 8 grades of steel wool: 0000 = finest, 000 = extra fine, 00 = fine, 0 = medium fine, 1 = medium, 2 = medium coarse, 3 = coarse, 4 = extra coarse.

If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Kimberly
S.O.S. Consumer Care"

Now there is no direct equivalent for steel wool grade to sand paper grit.
And using it wet or lubricated vs dry also makes a difference.
But just for swag here is what the wood working guys use as a estimator.

4/0 steel wool = 400 grit sandpaper
3/0 steel wool = 280 grit
2/0 steel wool = 180 grit
2/0 steel wool = 120 grit
1 steel wool = 100 grit
2 steel wool = 60 grit
3 steel wool = 50 grit
4 steel wool = 36 grit

Anticipating the next question:

White Scotchbrite = 1200 grit (it has no abrasive)
Gray Scotchbrite = about 400 - 600
Maroon Scotchbrite = about 220-280
Green Scotchbrite = about 150 - 180

Be a little careful. Different manufacturers of non-woven abrasive material may be somewhat different. The above is for 3M Scotch-Brite brand.
And S.O.S Pads do not use the period after the last S. Because S.O.S. is not trademarkable according to the Govt. So they just pulled of a period.

[hewittca]

This is interesting information, thank you! I find the steel wool to sandpaper equivalent values interesting and wonder how they arrived at those. I've used 000 steel wool on my truck before and for the most part, the 000 steel wool was fairly gentle. If I were to hit the paint with the equivalent 280 grit sandpaper I know I would burn through the paint in an instant.

For reference, here is the front fender on my old truck after hitting it with 000 steel wool. This is OG paint that was buffed to a mirror shine. It was too shiny for me so I dulled it back down with the steel wool.