Black coming off window rubber!

[Mrk_Mickey]

Hey guys.
I've noticed and pushed off this problem a fair few times, but now I'm just getting sick of it.

Every time I wash the car and come to chamois it, I get near the black while I'm doing the doors around the windows and on edges of roof, and what I get is a big, ugly, disturbing black smudge that seems to never stop happening. It's getting to the point where I want to rip them off and burn them for smudging my white paint!!!

So, I ask, why would the rubber around my windows, AND on the roof (the rubber roofrack thing things) be letting black go everywhere so easily? Is my worst fear true that they could have been painted for a black look?

[Jarred]

I think it might just be the rubber wearing out,

The worn rubber dseteriorates, and becomes small rubber particles that have dried up and become solid (ie not rubbery anymore, from the heat/sun etc)
combine this with the water and anytime you go near the rubber with a chamios or whatever you smudge this black filth everywhere. I had this from when I was wet sanding, there for I believe it's worn rubber.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Mmm, interesting. That was another thought of mine - well something along those lines - but I disregarded it because it didn't look like 'bits'. So is it possible to get new rubbers, or to repair these in some way?

[MattyT]

I'd assume so, since everything else is replaceable on the car.

[anarchycamp]

Not sure about Mk3 Window rubbers but Mk2's they are up there with the holy grail in terms of trying to find the suckers without paying some crazy dealer price.