Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Colour Floor Pad for Professional Cleaning

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Selecting the correct floor pad colour is essential for achieving the best results in commercial and industrial floor maintenance. This Floor Pad Colour Guide helps simplify the process, especially for newcomers who may feel overwhelmed by the many colours, materials and grades available, even though experienced cleaning professionals often know exactly which pads to use.

This guide explains what each floor pad colour means, how and when they should be used, and which machine speeds and applications they are best suited for. It is designed to help cleaning teams, facilities managers and contractors choose the right pad every time.

Click here to request a floor pad colour chart

Understanding the Floor Pad Colour System

The floor-care industry follows a genera light-to-dark colour scale, where:

White = very fine

Tan / Red = light cleaning

Green / Blue = scrubbing

Brown / Black = heavy-duty stripping

However, colour alone doesn’t tell the whole story- materials, density and manufacture differences can also affect performance. Use this guide as a reference when planning your floor cleaning or restoration process. 

Stripping pads- Black & Brown

Floor Pad Colour Guide

For: Removing polish, heavy build-up and tough soils

Black and brown floor pads are the most aggressive pads available. Designed with coarse fibres and an open weave, they quickly cut through layers of old floor polish and heavy contamination.

Key features:

  • Highly abrasive

  • Ideal for polish and finish removal

  • Can remove concrete splashes and stubborn dirt

  • Open structure prevents clogging

Usage tips:

  • Use wet with a stripping solution

  • Suitable for low-speed machines (150–200 rpm)

  • Collect slurry with a mop or wet vacuum and rinse the floor

Not suitable for: Adhesives like mastic, or high-speed machines.

Scrubbing pads- Green & Blue

Floor Pad Colour Guide

For: Deep cleaning and surface preparation

Green and blue pads are less aggressive than black or brown, but still powerful enough to remove heavy soils and marks.

Green Floor Pads

  • Strong scrubbing power

  • Removes dirt and dull top layers of emulsion polish

  • Ideal for deep cleaning

Blue Floor Pads

  • Excellent for spray cleaning and light scrubbing

  • Removes medium levels of soil

  • Prepares the floor for polishing or recoating

Usage:

  • Suitable for high-speed machines (300–500 rpm)

  • Do not use for burnishing – too abrasive for finishing work

Spray cleaning pads - Red and Tan

Floor Pad Colour Guide

For: Regular cleaning, maintaining shine, and light soil removal

These are the most commonly used pads for ongoing floor maintenance.

Red Floor Pads

  • Lightweight scrubbing

  • Great for routine cleaning

  • Restores surface shine on polished floors

Tan Floor Pads

  • Finer fibres than red

  • Suitable for spray cleaning and buffing

  • Works well on high-speed machines (300–500 rpm)

Both pads help maintain the polish without removing it, making them ideal for daily or weekly cleaning programmes.

Burnishing pads - White and Pale blue

Floor Pad Colour Guide

For: High-gloss finishing and polish enhancement

Burnishing pads bring out a high shine and help cure the polish by creating friction.

White Floor Pads

  • Softest pad available

  • Produces a bright, glossy finish

  • Best used at low to medium-high speeds (up to 350 rpm)

  • Not suitable for ultra-high speed—risk of overheating

Pale Blue Thermal Pads

  • Designed for ultra-high-speed burnishers (1500–2000 rpm)

  • Aerated weave increases airflow and prevents surface overheating

  • Creates an exceptionally mirror-like gloss

  • Colours may vary by manufacturer on UHS pads

Melamine Pads

Floor Pad Colour Guide

For: Deep cleaning stone, tiles, wood and textured flooring

Melamine pads aren’t traditional buffing pads but have become extremely popular due to their ability to remove scuffs, stains and embedded dirt with only water.

Best for:

  • Natural stone

  • Terrazzo

  • Wood

  • Tiles

  • Safety flooring

  • Textured surfaces

Usage notes:

  • Use at low speed (around 150 rpm)

  • More expensive than standard pads, but highly effective

  • Avoid high speeds to prevent rapid wear

As highlighted in this Professional Floor Pad Colour Guide for Commercial and Industrial Cleaning, selecting the correct floor pad colour is one of the most important steps in achieving safe, efficient and high-quality floor maintenance. The right pad helps you remove polish, deep clean, spray clean or burnish with maximum effectiveness, while also protecting your floors and prolonging the life of your floor cleaning machine.

With so many pad colours and applications available, a clear reference guide is essential for cleaning teams, facilities managers and contractors. Use this guide whenever you need to confirm which pad to choose, or make it even easier by requesting our full Floor Pad Colour Chart.

Get fast, accurate pad selection every time and improve the results of your commercial or industrial floor cleaning process.

Click here to request your Floor Pad Colour Chart and support your team with a complete, easy-to-use pad selection guide.

 
 
Click Here To Request Your Professional Floor Pad Colour Guide for Commercial and Industrial Cleaning
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