The weird thing is that the dust that I gathered up from the pad was already a different color. It was browner than the red pad.

The air pockets in mine are tiny, smaller than the head of a straight pin. There must be 15 of them in an area that would not total over 1 sq. inch. I may try some rubber cement, Gooser, thanks for the suggestion. I bought a tube of the red RTV. I'm just gonna squirt a dab out and let it dry to see what color it is.

Thanks all, SRH

May God bless America and those who defend her.