A floor buffer is one of the cheapest machines on a rental counter, at roughly $35 to $70 a day and $100 to $220 a week for a 17 to 20 inch swing machine. What decides whether the job goes well is the pad and the speed, not the price. Stripping, scrubbing, buffing and burnishing are four different operations, and using the wrong pad for one of them can take a floor's finish off permanently.
Low speed or high speed
A low speed swing machine at around 175 rpm is the one you rent for stripping, scrubbing and bonnet cleaning, because torque and water are what those jobs need. A high speed burnisher at 1,500 rpm and up puts a gloss on a floor that already has finish on it. Renting a burnisher to strip wax, or a swing machine to burnish, wastes the day either way.
Pads by colour, in plain terms
Roughly and with brand variation: black and brown pads strip, green scrubs aggressively, blue scrubs, red cleans and buffs lightly, and white or tan polishes. The darker the pad the more it cuts. Pads are consumables billed on top of the machine, so say what your floor is and what you are trying to do when you book, and take a spare of each.
What else the job needs
Stripping wants a wet vacuum to pick the slurry up, a mop and bucket, and a way to dispose of the solution to a sanitary drain. Signage and a plan for keeping people off wet floors matters more than the machine does. Most yards rent the wet vacuum alongside the buffer for another $30 to $50 a day, which is cheaper than doing it with towels.
Handling a swing machine takes a few minutes
A floor buffer steers by handle height: lift the handle and it walks one way, drop it and it walks the other, and level is where it stands still. First-timers fight it for ten minutes and then it is easy. Keep the cord over your shoulder and behind the machine, because running the pad over a power cord is the common way these hires end badly.
Questions people ask about floor buffer rental
What size floor buffer should I rent?
A 17 inch machine is the practical default: it fits through doorways, goes in a car and covers open floor fast enough. A 20 inch unit is worth it in large open rooms; anything smaller is a specialist tool for tight spaces.
Can a floor buffer strip wax?
A low speed swing machine with a black or brown pad and stripping solution will, yes. A high speed burnisher will not, and running one on softened finish makes a mess that has to be stripped anyway.
Are pads included in the rental?
Rarely. Pads and any pad driver are consumables charged separately, usually a few dollars each. Ask what the machine's pad size is when you book so you do not arrive with the wrong ones.
Will a buffer work on unfinished concrete?
For cleaning, yes, with an aggressive pad or a brush. Polishing bare concrete is a different machine with diamond tooling and a lot more weight, and no swing machine will do it properly.