It's fun to see how you make the pads, but I can see why you don't feel they added quite the feel you were looking for.
Might I again suggest giving some thought to where the pads would be damaged, worn and dirty? I would guess with Solo running around the ship kicking his jackboots into things, the lower pads would be fairly worn, while the upper pads could remain almost pristine. I'm sure you've observed wear on the pads of the full scale build and could use that as a guide.
Where control panels stick out of the wall, wear will be different from areas where the crew just run past (interestingly, people doesn't seem to be walking in the ship). Perhaps the occasional fires would discolour a few of them as well.
Just my 5 pennies worth.