Blackish, what about the wire.

If your' talking about the wire, its too lean, and serious damage has already been done.

The wire should always look new, a bit shiny, and the sourrounding edge should be golden brown, that's what it should look like at optimal power setting.

If the sourrounding is grey/black, again, it could be a bit lean. Generally if your running rich, the sourrounding edge will look a bit wet, with a gold film around it.