Using three ascending grits of waterproof sandpaper (600, 1200, 2000; ISO77) it is possible to polish entire fresh roots, stems, or wood fragments by manually grinding the surface of the samples to ascending grits of waterproof sandpapers under water. By so doing the swarf goes to the water and do not clog the wood cells’ lumina, allowing for an excellent visualization of the overall anatomical structure. We show results of over a decade of use of this technique in our labs, applied to different plants, from palms to lianas and trees, both in stems and roots.