The pad is the workhorse — it's what's actually in contact with the floor doing the cleaning, stripping, or polishing. Your machine provides pressure and rotation; the pad does the job. Which pad you run matters as much as any setting on the machine, because the wrong grade is either too soft to cut through the soil or too aggressive and damaging your finish.
This is the genuine Nilfisk Advance OEM PAD-WHITE-14X24-5/CS, part number 56394176, brand new in the box. Pads wear from friction, and once they're glazed or bald in patches, they're just riding on the floor instead of working it.
Match the pad grade to what you're trying to accomplish. Lighter colors are gentler (cleaning, polishing); darker colors are more aggressive (stripping, deep scrubbing). Running an aggressive pad on a finished floor makes for a bad day for both.
Not sure which pad you need? Send us your machine model and what you're trying to do to the floor, and we'll point you at the right one.