What is the difference between buffing, burnishing and polishing a floor?

Buffing, burnishing, and polishing are all techniques used to clean and maintain hard surface floors, but they are not the same thing.
Buffing is the process of using a floor buffer, which is a heavy-duty machine with a rotating brush or pad, to clean and polish a floor. It is used to remove dirt, scuffs, and stains from the floor surface and to restore the shine to the floor. Buffing is typically done before burnishing.
Burnishing is the process of using a high-speed floor buffer or burnisher, which is a machine with a rotating pad that spins at a high speed, to polish a floor. It is used to create a high-gloss shine on the floor surface. Burnishing is typically done after buffing.
Polishing is the process of creating a high-gloss finish on a floor surface. It can be done by using a machine that has a rotating pad or by using a hand-held polisher. Polishing is similar to burnishing, but it is typically used for floors that are in good condition and only require a glossy finish.
In summary, buffing is the most aggressive cleaning process that removes dirt, stains, and scuffs, burnishing is a finishing process that creates a high-gloss shine, polishing is a process that creates a high-gloss finish on a floor surface that is in good condition, without removing dirt or scratches.