Dirt or something else?

[ZL1Mike]

Tested out a small section on my 85 Eldorado today. After a few passes I noticed that my pad was turning grey. Does this look like dirt that was trapped in the paint or paint transfer? I used a clay bar before testing anything out. Has anyone experienced this?

[AKT]

Looks like paint to me. But i am not sure...

[Eldorado2k]

Hey man cool car, do you have more pics of it?
As far as what’s on your pad, what product were you using? How much product did you apply to the pad before starting? How does your test spot look in person? Better or worse that before?

[FrankS]

If you have single stage grey paint then you will see the grey color on your pad.

If you have single stage grey metallic paint, then your pads will turn more of a blackish color from the metal flakes.

[ZL1Mike]

I was using fg400 with a LC thin pad. The paint has metallic flakes and
looks almost like it has a flat finish to it. It's beige and is a lot lighter than what was on the pad. The test area looks better after compounding but still needs attention. I'll have to post some pictures later

[Setec Astronomy]

As was said, single stage metallic will turn your pads black because the metal flake is usually aluminum.

85 was around when GM was changing to BC/CC, but since that was the last year of that body style, it's possible it didn't change to BC/CC until '86. To me it looks like clearcoat in the picture, so maybe that's just dirt on the pad. It is possible to clay the car and still have dirt that comes off on the pad.