FYI, for my Bludworth ball cleaner I've been using weekly for 22+ years and have replaced the pads on every 1-2 years, I have always used a F1 felt sheet ordered from Grainger, white, 2'x2', 1/4" thick, to reline the 16 holes for the balls and the round base plate that spins them. I simply cut the felt strips for the holes and for the large round base pad to the proper size, spray glue the back of them, then pop them in. From a 2'x2' felt sheet, I can make about 2-1/2 to 3 sets of pads and strips, if you cut them properly to mimimize waste.
The cost is around $25 per set of pads and strips - $60-$70 total including shipping for the 2'x2' felt sheet. I'm sure there are less expensive types of buffing pads one could use in their polisher, but this is a top quality felt and has worked very well for me for a very long time.
As for what I use on our sets of balls, I start with the cue balls and do them by hand with a sponge doused in denatured alcohol, using latex gloves to not get the alcohol on my hands, to first hand buff all the chalk marks and miscue marks off the cue balls as best as I can. Then after placing a full set of balls in the polishing machine, as soon as I turn it on, I squirt one full shot of spray of Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer on the set of balls as they are spinning, and let the machine do it's thing for roughly 90 seconds per set.
I do this process once a week on Monday afternoon, before our weekly Monday night tournament. I have a friend who built his own ball polisher based on the specs on mine. He chooses not to use any type of spray on the balls when he puts them in his machine. I've tried that, but just don't think the balls come out looking as good. As far as whether anything left on the surface of the balls from the detailer spray used in the polisher might make them play differently, I have never noticed any issue.