Turn down the juice and go slower. Way to hot and wayyyy to fast. If you weld out to the edge of your cup and let the weld cool while its under the cup it will not turn black.
Ok for one he said he was running 20-30-35 amps which is cold as shit if that is machine settings. I set mine at 60 amps and use 80% maybe and i have no issues with gas coverage.
OP, just judging by the HAZ it looks like you never stopped when doing each string of weld. Which is a huge no no. You need to stop about every 1/2 to 3/4's of an inch depending on the cup size. This allows the metal to cool a bit for one, and allows you to not go beyond the coverage abilities of your cup. the only way you could weld a long distance is if you had a massive cup or ran a trailing purge set up.
slappy how would you weld slower and colder them 35 amps on a damn 16g tube? do you not care for penetration? It would take me days to build a downpipe welding at those amps.