Floor Care · Reference

Floor Pad Color Guide: Which Pad for Which Job

Floor pads are color-coded so you can tell at a glance what a pad is built to do. The rule is simple: the darker the pad, the more aggressive it is. White pads are the gentlest and polish; black pads are the most aggressive and strip. Everything in between scrubs and cleans at increasing strength.

Get a Free Floor Assessment

One caveat up front: this is an industry convention, not a guaranteed standard. Most low-speed pads follow it closely, but assignments vary between manufacturers, burnishing pads especially. Always check the box and the equipment manufacturer's recommendation before you run a pad.

The color code, least to most aggressive

White, polishing. The softest pad. Dry-buffs a clean floor to a high gloss and buffs out light haze in fresh finish. Not a cleaning pad; running it on a dirty floor grinds dirt into the finish.
Red, cleaning & spray buffing. The everyday pad. Light cleaning, daily buffing, and removing light scuffs to a satin shine. Wet or dry.
Blue, wet scrubbing. More aggressive than red. Deep-scrubs medium soil and buildup that routine cleaning can't lift; preps for a recoat.
Green, heavy scrub & light strip. Multi-purpose heavy scrubbing and light stripping; prepares a floor to take new finish. Good when brown is too aggressive for the surface.
Brown, aggressive stripping. Heavy-duty finish removal, slightly milder than black. Durable floors only.
Black, full stripping. The most aggressive pad. Total finish removal during a strip and wax, used with stripper on a low-speed machine. Never use it to clean or buff.
Maroon / burgundy, dry strip & surface prep. Chemical-free dry stripping and screen prep, including on wood.
Burnishing (UHS) pads, wet-look gloss. A separate category for high-speed burnishers, about 1,000–2,500 RPM, usually white, tan, beige, or aqua. Colors are not standardized here; confirm with the manufacturer.

Two rules that protect your floors

Match the pad to the task: stripping, scrubbing, cleaning, or burnishing each calls for a different pad.
Match the pad to the floor: an aggressive black or brown strip pad belongs on durable surfaces like commercial VCT or sealed concrete. Run it on a delicate floor and you'll cause damage you can't buff out.

Which floor pad for which flooring

Floor	Typical pads	Notes
VCT	Black (strip), green/blue (scrub & recoat), red (buff), white (polish), UHS for gloss	The full range. VCT is durable and built for strip-and-wax.
LVT / luxury vinyl	White/red only, manufacturer-safe	No-wax wear layer. Avoid aggressive pads and high-heat burnishing; follow the maker's spec.
Terrazzo	Black to remove old wax, then diamond polishing pads	Modern terrazzo is polished with diamond pads, not waxed, a different system from color foam pads.
Marble & natural stone	Diamond polishing pads; white for light buff	Never aggressive nylon strip pads (they scratch) and never acidic chemistry.
Grouted tile	Scrub/brush pads for cleaning; not waxed	Win is cleaning tile and sealing grout, not applying finish.
Concrete (polished/sealed)	Heavy-duty/black for cleaning; diamond/resin pads for polishing	Durable; tolerates aggressive pads. Polishing uses a diamond system.
Hardwood (commercial)	Maroon/screen pads for buff & recoat prep; red/white to buff	No wet black stripping. Screen-and-recoat, not strip-and-wax.
Linoleum	Green or milder; avoid brown/black	Softer than VCT; aggressive pads can damage it.

Not sure which pad, or which process, your floor needs? Get a free floor assessment.

Questions

What color floor pad is used for stripping?

Black is the standard strip pad (most aggressive), with brown and maroon also used for stripping, on a low-speed machine with floor stripper.

What color pad is used for scrubbing?

Blue for medium-soil wet scrubbing and green for heavy scrubbing and light stripping. Red handles lighter daily cleaning.

What color pad polishes or buffs floors?

White polishes a clean floor to a high gloss; red is used for everyday buffing and spray buffing. High-speed burnishing uses white, tan, or aqua UHS pads.

Is the floor pad color code the same for every brand?

No. It's a widely followed convention, but exact assignments vary by manufacturer, especially burnishing pads. Always confirm with the pad maker and your equipment's recommendations.

Can I use any pad on any floor?

No. Match the pad to both the task and the material. Aggressive pads suit durable floors like VCT and sealed concrete; LVT and natural stone need gentle, material-safe pads.