Burnishers & Polivacs

Burnishers and polishers put the final finish on a floor. A high speed burnisher spins a pad at 1,500–2,000+ rpm to bring polished concrete, sealed concrete and vinyl up to a high-gloss shine, while a Polivac suction polisher scrubs, buffs and recovers in a single pass on hard and resilient floors.

Taman stocks gas and electric burnishers alongside the Australian-made Polivac PV25, backed by pads, spares and in-house servicing from our Belmont workshop, with delivery Australia-wide.

Burnisher or polisher, which do you need?

They look similar and do different jobs.

A high speed burnisher spins a single pad flat and fast. Its only job is gloss, refining an already-prepared floor to a mirror finish and maintaining it. It won’t grind, strip or scrub; it’s the last machine on the floor, not the first.

A Polivac suction polisher runs slower with a brush or pad and built-in suction, so it scrubs and polishes while recovering dust and residue in the same pass. It’s a maintenance and preparation machine for hard floors, vinyl and timber.

If you’re finishing polished concrete, you’ll often want both, the Polivac for scrubbing and prep, the burnisher for the final gloss.

Gas or electric burnisher?

Gas (propane) burnishers — like the 50cm Gen II — deliver the highest pad speeds and the largest path width, with no cord to manage, which makes them the fastest option for large open areas: warehouses, retail, supermarkets and car park retail floors. They require adequate ventilation and are an outdoor or well-ventilated-space machine.

Electric ultra-high-speed burnishers — the Dominator SL1600 and Stingray SL2000 — run cordless-clean with no emissions, suiting occupied buildings, schools, healthcare and any enclosed space where a gas machine can’t work. Path width is narrower, so they trade outright coverage rate for the ability to run indoors.

Pads make the finish

The machine sets the speed; the pad sets the result. Burnishing pads run from aggressive (for cutting back and refining) through to fine (for final gloss), and using the wrong grade either burns the floor or leaves it dull. Match pad grade to your floor type and the finish you’re chasing — we can advise on a pad progression for polished concrete, sealed concrete or vinyl.