The square-edged sanding pad of sheet sanders provides a large face to sand larger surface areas than the pointed-tip pad of detail sanders. Also known as palm sanders and jitterbug sanders, they are commonly used on stairs, near walls, along edges, and inside cabinets. They move their pad in a tight orbital pattern to perform light material removal and fine finishing before coating. Sheet sanders sand less aggressively than rotary and random orbital sanders but may leave swirl marks or scratches, especially when sanding against the grain.

Straight-line sanders move their square-edged sanding board back and forth in short strokes for more aggressive abrading action than sheet and detail sanders. Also known as body sanders and air longboard sanders, their dual pistons prevent stalling to power the board through heavy stock removal applications. They sand long panels and other large surfaces, strip paint and coatings, and smooth and blend filler material.

The pointed-tip sanding pad of detail sanders gets into tighter corners and contours than sheet sanders. Detail sanders move their pad in a tight orbital pattern to perform light material removal and fine finishing before coating. They sand less aggressively than rotary and random orbital sanders but may leave swirl marks or scratches, especially when sanding against the grain.