Burnishing vs. Buffing Floors

Wheel Speed

• The main difference between floors being buffed or burnished is the speed at which the pad is applied to the floor. When you use a buffing machine, the mechanism only moves at 350 rpm. Burnishing machines are much faster. An electric burnisher will accelerate to at least 1500 rpm, and there are propane-powered models that go much faster than that.

Wet or Dry

• Buffing can be either a wet or dry technique, while burnishing is always dry. One variety of buffing is called spray buffing. This is a wet technique that uses a very rough pad on the machine and cleans the floor while it buffs out scratches. There are also buffing techniques that are dry and meant to shine the floor rather than clean it. Burnishing is always dry.

Uses

• Burnishing is more commonly done in commercial settings. Buffing is also done in commercial applications, but it would be more common for floors in a home to be buffed. Burnishing is done on high-traffic floors that have a surface well suited to frequent burnishing, which keeps them glossy and looking good, even after constant high traffic. The treatment with the machine may be combined with polishing products to help keep the floor shiny and looking new for a long time.

Results

• The final result is, of course, different. A buffer polishes the floor and brings out the natural character of the flooring. However, it does not achieve the highly glossy look that a burnishing machine does. Burnishing is about making the floor look extremely shiny. This is accomplished through the use of the special burnishing pads and the very high speeds at which the floor is polished.