Thanks guys!
as for the exploding pad....I shot off an email to the griots garage customer support team. So we shall see what happens next.
Looking at the 3in polishing pads they sell now, it looks like they were re designed to solve the separation issue, so hopefully I can get the updated variety.
I still want a 4 1/2 in BP and some 4 1/2 pads though. Probably what I should have done in the first place.