With the above picture showing foam eaten out of or disintegrating out of the "center" portion of the foam thickness.
And with the below picture showing the edge of the backing plate touching into the center of the foam interface...
It certainly looks like the backing plate is doing the damage.
The effect is called,
Mushrooming
That is when the foam compresses and actually collapses against the backing plate, the foam squishes outward and over the edge of the backing plate.
The action of any 8mm and larger stroke tool is violent at speed, at least over time. Together with all the other factors, my guess is the damage is being caused by the edge of the backing plate. I've seen this over the years with other foam pads and other backing plates.
I just spoke with Jeff Brown about this and I suggest you give him time to carve out some of his time to sufficiently read through this entire thread and then I'm sure he'll comment.
I don't normally use any company's microfiber pad because when I need to cut fast or cut heavy I use a rotary buffer. I will do some testing of these pads and tools and see what I can find out.
It could be a case for future
evolution of the foam formula for this pad and this application. Or a design
evolution. By the word evolution I mean that after a product, pad or tool is introduced, after lots of date is compiled tweaks can be made for improvements to improve an existing working product so that it works better.
I don't want to categorically state there's an issue with these pads because like I said, I don't use them. Jeff did say that these pads and this system have been extensively tested and their testing never revealed this problem.
Griot's is a great company with great customer service and Jeff is the real deal when it comes to both hands-on detailing and new product development so let's give him a chance and give him some time.
Thank you....