Yes, it is a bit confusing. As a rule of thumb, glazing occurs when the pad material is pushed beyond it's thermal limits - for example, heavy use on track. Glazing can also occur when the brakes are dragged (or driven with very softly) - this is partly due to the constant friction causing gradual but continual heat build up, but also because the surface of the pad naturally becomes hard and glassy due to oxidisation, exposure to moisture and heat. When braking with force, this glassy layer is removed by friction with the disc (hence why you never see glazed pads on grooved discs), but with slow, gentle braking, it isn't worn away. Hence why, like I said, if the glazing is due to lack of use, you can re-face the pad, whereas if it's cooked, then bin them. Glazed discs/rotors are a bit different, and occur when the glassy/hard surface of the pad sort of polishes the metal surface. I'm a keen mountain biker, and poor braking is 99% of the time due to organic pad compound, which has melted and glazed (due to a lower heat tolerance). I've run sintered/metallic pads for years now, and while they do make a bit of noise, work like a charm. I'd personally only resort to heavy braking for bedding brakes in - any glazing and I prefer the bench. That said, any glazing and I generally replace the pads anyway, so it's less important. I use Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, and stock OE VW pads on the rear. The Ferodo have a little less bite than OE, but can take a fair bit more heat. If set up correctly (somehow mine are, pure luck) they can be pretty damn quiet on the road, and take some beating on the track. Brake pads are a tricky thing to balance. You can have plain discs and eco pads, which will last a while, produce no dust or noise, but won't brake all that well, or you can go for some metallic track pads with grooved discs that will always bite hard and stop you dead, but will also eat pads and discs like they're going out of fashion.