My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

[ChevyNick]

Hey guys. So I am out in the garage right now and polishing the truck with Ultimate Polish and the pad shown below in the picture.

Why is it beginning to turn black? Could this be that I bumped up against some black trim? Maybe against the window trim? I don't think that I ever did... but I suppose it could be possible. Could it be anything else besides the chance of me running over some black trim? Pad wearing out? Any help is great, thanks!

BTW: This shouldn't have anything to do with my paint because #1) My truck is red, #2) It is not single stage paint.

[Murr1525]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

Yeah... trim, rubber, bit of tar are most likely.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

Did you clay the vehicle first? If not, you could be pulling up some bonded contaminants.

[ChevyNick]

Is it still ok to keep using? It appears a majority comes off when I clean the pad on the fly.

[ChevyNick]

Yes I did clay, with the blue clay. Barley pulled anything up. Paint felt smooth before I clayed so that probably explains the clay not picking much up.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

It should be fine to continue use. You likely hit rubber trim - it tends to pull color very quickly if you do.

[ChevyNick]

Ok cool thanks guys.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

When's the last time you used the buffer on the truck? It could also be that you're quite literally pulling the embedded dirt out of the pores of the paint. Running over some trim usually leaves a dark strip towards the edge of the pad rather than just some light soiling toward the center.

[ChevyNick]

When's the last time you used the buffer on the truck? It could also be that you're quite literally pulling the embedded dirt out of the pores of the paint. Running over some trim usually leaves a dark strip towards the edge of the pad rather than just some light soiling toward the center.

I last used it on the truck in Sept-Oct 2011 which is when I did the whole process, clay, UC, UP and wax. Another thing worth mentioning is the truck wasn't used much at all since I did that. It sat in the garage most of the winter.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

That almost looks like an over saturated pad. That would explain why it clears up after you clean it. Maybe you are using too much product.

[ChevyNick]

That almost looks like an over saturated pad. That would explain why it clears up after you clean it. Maybe you are using too much product.

Well it doesn't clean up completely when I clean on the fly.

[Garage Troll]

Re: My Polishing Pad is Turning Black...?

This happened with my Mom's Subaru which is silver and has a clear coat. I would chalk it up to contaminants in the pores. I had no issues whatsoever with my pad as far as it leaving marring or anything like that. A little soak in APC+ and a run through the washer solved that.