Floor Burnisher vs Buffer vs Scrubber: Speeds, Pads and Which Machine Does What

How we made this guide: picks, prices and specs come from our catalog and the makers' published specs, owner quotes come from customer reviews on our product pages and the guide was drafted with AI help, then checked and edited by Trevor Hall.

A buffer and a burnisher are not the same machine. A buffer is a low-speed floor machine, about 175 RPM, that scrubs, strips and spray-buffs with a pad or brush, and our pick is the Mercury Hercules H-20E at $1,279.95. A burnisher spins a pad at about 1,000 to 2,000 RPM or more to polish a floor that already has a finish to a high gloss, and our pick is the Mercury Ultra D.C. DC-21-1500 at $1,439.95.

An auto scrubber is a third machine: it lays down solution, scrubs and vacuums the dirty water back up in one pass. Buy by the job, not the name.

Pick the buffer if you strip, scrub or spray-buff. Pick the burnisher if you polish.

Pick a low-speed buffer if the work is stripping old finish, scrubbing with a brush or pad or spray-buffing. Pick a dual-speed machine such as the EDIC Saturn 20DS3 at $1,450 if one machine has to scrub at low speed and buff at a higher one. Pick a burnisher if the floor already carries a finish and the job is shine. Pick an auto scrubber, such as the Tornado BD 17/6 at $4,042, if the job is washing a hard floor and leaving it nearly dry.

In our range, corded buffers and corded burnishers cost about the same. Most of both sit between $1,000 and $2,000, and the Hercules H-20E and the Ultra D.C. DC-21-1500 are close in price. Going cordless is what costs more: the Tornado 98494 battery burnisher is $2,899. The auto scrubbers on this page cost more again.

Buffer vs burnisher vs auto scrubber at a glance

Side-by-side chart: speed, size and weight

Every figure above is from the spec rows on our product pages.

What a buffer and a burnisher share

Both are rotary floor machines. A motor turns a pad driver or brush under a weighted housing and an operator guides it from the handle. They are not run the same way. A low-speed buffer is swung side to side in overlapping arcs, while a burnisher is walked forward in straight, overlapping passes. Powr-Flite's burnisher manual says to push the machine forward in a straight line at a slow walking speed and overlap each pass by about 1 inch.

Both come in 17 to 21 inch sizes, both need a properly grounded outlet when corded and both need a pad or brush matched to the job. Sellers often call a burnisher a high-speed buffer, so the name is loose. The speed and the pad decide the work.

Speed is the main difference

Speed changes what the pad does to the floor. At about 175 RPM the machine has torque and low heat, which suits scrubbing and stripping with a brush or a stripping pad. At about 1,000 to 2,000 RPM or more the pad moves too fast to scrub, but it can polish a finish to a gloss.

Our floor machines fall into these groups by listed speed:

• 175 RPM: Mercury Hercules H-20E, a single-speed buffer for scrubbing, stripping and spray-buffing.
• 180 / 320 RPM: EDIC Saturn 20DS3, a dual-speed buffer. EDIC's spec sheet lists the 20DS3 at 180 and 320 RPM, so one machine can scrub low and buff higher.
• 1,170 and 1,600 RPM: other Mercury Ultra D.C. and Powr-Flite burnishers in our range.
• 1,500 RPM: Mercury Ultra D.C. DC-21-1500 and the Tornado 98494 battery burnisher.
• 2,000 RPM: Powr-Flite NM2000DC, listed as a 2,000 RPM dust-control burnisher.
• 190 RPM: the Tornado BD 17/6 scrubber. 650 RPM on the PFMW18's cylindrical brush, which is not comparable with a disc machine's RPM. These brushes turn at scrubbing speeds because they wash, they do not polish.

Pads: match the pad to the machine's speed

Floor pads are rated by speed, so the pad has to suit the machine. 3M's floor pad chart lists its stripping and scrubbing pads for 175 to 600 RPM machines and its ultra high-speed burnish pads, such as the Eraser Burnish Pad 3600, for 1,500 RPM and above. A stripping or scrub pad goes on a low-speed buffer and a burnish pad goes on a burnisher. Check the pad maker's speed rating before you mount it.

Mercury's manual for the Ultra D.C. says its 20 and 21 inch machines take a 20 inch pad, and never to run the burnisher without a pad or with a damaged pad. For pad colors by job, see the floor pad color guide.

The buffer: scrub, strip and spray-buff

The Hercules H-20E is the plain low-speed option: a 1.5 HP motor, an 18 inch rotary brush at 175 RPM, a 108 lb body and a 50 ft cord. It is the most direct fit for the step before refinishing, which our guide to stripping and waxing VCT walks through.

Skip it if the floors you work on are already finished and you only want shine.

The dual-speed machine: one buffer for two jobs

The EDIC Saturn 20DS3 lists 180 and 320 RPM, a 20 inch head, a 1.5 HP motor and a 92 lb body. It draws 14.4 A on a 50 ft cord. The low speed scrubs and strips. The higher speed buffs. It is not a burnisher, because 320 RPM is far below burnishing speed (1,170 RPM and up in our range).

Skip it if you only ever strip. A single-speed 175 RPM machine such as the Hercules H-20E costs less. Skip it too if you burnish, since 320 RPM does not reach burnishing speed.

The burnisher: polish a finished floor

A burnisher is a high-speed machine used on a floor that already has a finish. The Mercury Ultra D.C. DC-21-1500 runs a 1.5 HP D/C rectified motor at 1,500 RPM under a 21 inch apron, weighs 84 lb and draws 15 A on a 50 ft cord. It is the lightest corded buffer or burnisher in this chart, and Mercury's manual says it takes a 20 inch pad.

Mercury's manual for the Ultra D.C. says to sweep abrasive soils before burnishing, to keep the burnisher moving while the pad spins, to plug into a grounded 3-hole outlet and never to use an extension cord.

If you want more speed, the Powr-Flite NM2000DC steps up to 2,000 RPM with a 20 inch pad, an 89 lb body and a 75 ft cord. It is listed as a dust-control burnisher, with a 1.5 HP motor and a belt drive.

The Tornado 98494 removes the cord. Tornado's brochure lists a 17 inch path, sealed AGM batteries with an on-board charger and two hours of run time, a 0.6 HP motor, a 1,500 RPM disc, an integrated dust control system, 59 dB and 141 lb. The weight is the trade: it is the heaviest burnisher on this page, and it costs more than the corded 1,500 RPM Mercury.

Propane burnishers are a third type for very large floors. We do not carry them, and the maker's ventilation instructions apply indoors.

Skip the burnishers if the floor has no finish or the finish is worn through. Burnishing does not clean or strip. For technique, our old guide on how to burnish a floor covers the passes.

The scrubber: wash and dry in one pass

An auto scrubber is a different tool. It has a solution tank, a scrubbing brush and a squeegee with a vacuum, so it washes the floor and recovers the dirty water as it goes. The Tornado BD 17/6 lists 6 gallon tanks, a 17 inch path at 190 RPM, a 24 V AGM battery and a noise level under 70 dB. It is our best-selling scrubber of the two here.

For big floors, a larger walk-behind with bigger tanks fits better. See the walk-behind scrubber range.

The lighter Powr-Flite PFMW18 Multiwash is corded and 61 lb, with an 18 inch cleaning width, a 1 gallon solution tank and a 650 RPM brush. Owner reviews on our product page rate it 5.0 from 2 reviews.

“Very easy to use. 10x times better than a mop and bucket.”

Powr-Flite 18" XL Multiwash Automatic Scrubber PFMW18 owner · 5 out of 5 stars

“Exactly what we needed to clean our 3k sq ft gym.”

Powr-Flite 18" XL Multiwash Automatic Scrubber PFMW18 owner · 5 out of 5 stars

Skip a scrubber if the floor needs a polish. It cleans, it does not burnish. Skip the PFMW18 for a very large floor, because its tank is 1 gallon.

Which machine for which job

Frequently asked questions

What is a floor buffer used for?

A floor buffer is a low-speed rotary machine, about 175 RPM, used to scrub with a brush, strip finish with a stripping pad and spray-buff. Our Mercury Hercules H-20E is a single-speed example at 175 RPM.

What is the difference between buffing and burnishing?

Speed and purpose. Buffing is done at low speed and cleans or lightly shines a floor. Burnishing runs at about 1,000 to 2,000 RPM or more and polishes a finished floor to a high gloss. The burnishers we carry are listed from 1,170 to 2,000 RPM.

What is the difference between a polisher and a buffer?

Mostly the name. Floor polisher and floor buffer both describe a rotary floor machine. What decides the work is speed: a low-speed machine (about 175 to 320 RPM) scrubs, strips or spray-buffs, while a high-speed machine of about 1,000 RPM and up, usually called a burnisher, polishes a finished floor.

What is a floor cleaning machine called?

It depends on the job. A rotary machine that spins a pad or brush is a floor machine, floor buffer or floor polisher. A machine that washes and vacuums the floor in one pass is an auto scrubber or floor scrubber.

What is a floor burnisher? Can I use one to scrub or strip a floor?

A floor burnisher is a high-speed floor machine that spins a burnish pad over a floor finish to polish it to a gloss. It does not scrub or strip. Use a low-speed buffer or a scrubber for cleaning, then burnish.

Can a floor buffer burnish a floor?

A low-speed buffer will not burnish. Even our dual-speed EDIC Saturn 20DS3 tops out at 320 RPM, well below burnishing speed.

Related guides

• How to Strip and Wax VCT Floors: Steps, Pads, Coats and Dry Times
• Best Floor Scrubber for Tile and Grout: 8 Machines by Floor Size and Grout Condition