Gasket causing black marks on soft top

[VTZ4]

Hello!

There are two spots on my beige top that acquire black smudges, caused from rubbing against the back seal when the top folds down and rubs against it.

The car is new to me. Today, I cleaned and sealed the top with Raggtopp--which had clearly not been done in a long time. My hope is that the sealer will help the smudges not occur again. To be honest, I'm gun shy about putting the top down to check!

Is there any wisdom about sealing the seal/gasket/whatever-you-call-it, so that my otherwise pristine top can stay so? Not sure if you can see the marks in the photo--but here she is!

Thanks for any tips!

 

[NewToZ4]

Unfortunately no fix here, only responding to see if you've had an update on the problem? I have a black top and even so, putting the top down caused marks even darker than my top (over the 17 years since the car was new the top has faded and is unfortunately slightly noticeable on my beaut). Have you put the top down since? and if so, how did it go!