Standard speed floor buffing machines typically operate at 175 to 600 RPM and use colour-coded pads to denote their purpose and abrasiveness. The lighter the colour, the less abrasive the pad.
The common colours and their uses for standard speed floor maintenance are:
| Pad Colour | Use | Application Notes |
| White | Finishing and Polishing | The softest, least aggressive pad. Used dry for buffing and producing a high-gloss finish on clean, polished, or sealed floors. |
| Tan | Polishing / Light Cleaning | A mild polishing pad, used for light cleaning and dry buffing. Removes scuffs and black heel marks while producing a high shine. |
| Red | General Cleaning / Spray Buffing | Mildly abrasive, used for daily or frequent maintenance cleaning, polishing, and removing light scuff marks. Can be used wet or dry. |
| Blue | Light Scrubbing / Heavy-Duty Cleaning | Coarser than red, suitable for more intense cleaning and top-coat removal. Often used for periodic cleaning with a cleaning solution. |
| Green | Intermediate/Deep Scrubbing | Designed for aggressive cleaning and scrubbing, often used to remove surface layers of wax or soil and prepare the floor for recoating. Used wet with a cleaning or degreasing solution. |
| Brown | Dry Scrubbing / Light Stripping | More aggressive than green, used for aggressive scrubbing and preparing floors for new finish applications. |
| Black | Stripping | The most aggressive pad. Used with a stripping solution and a low-speed machine to completely remove old finishes, sealers, and wax from durable floors like commercial vinyl or concrete. |
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