If the soft top has to be used in the rain overnight
 

. . . what are the pros and cons of:
- putting a water repellent car cover over the whole car?
- putting a small waterproof tarp over the soft top?
- putting a small waterproof tarp over the soft top and then a water repellent car cover over that?

I'm considering the last option. A small tarp would keep any water that gets through the car cover (and any lint from the inside of the car cover) away from the soft top, and the car cover would keep the edges of the tarp from flapping in the wind against the paint.

Not that we ever HAVE any overnight rain in Washington state . . . but if I was at a out-of-town motel with only the soft top and a storm rolled in from, say, Orygun . . . .

I've got the Noah car cover that Mercedes sells. Its a good cover. It won't keep the car completely dry, but the amount of water that gets through is insignificant. I haven't had any wind problems with it, but it did come with a tie-down underneath. Only problem there was that it was a cheap nylon rope and it melted in two on the exhaust pipe.

Why are you worried about the soft top getting wet?

My sentiments as well. :confused: You don't really think a torrential rainstorm would ruin the top do you?

If so, I would never advise you to get the top wet while car washing, or venture out unless you are certain that there is NO chance of precipitation during your journey.

My only concern to overnight exposure would be hail damage...and the best car cover won't protect your car from that! :rolleyes:

I have no experience with the SL after 8-10 hours of being parked in the rain, but other canvas (versus vinyl) soft top cars I've had cause me to have a definite preference for getting into a dry car in the morning versus one with a thoroughly soaked softtop. The heaters of most roadsters can't dry out the soft top very fast on the road, and highway speed wind over the top seems to lower cabin temperature significantly through evaporation (a cool idea in the heat of the summer, but not at other times!).

Also, I expect that some of the seals will need replacing, but I didn't want to learn which are highest priority by finding "signal puddles" on the carpet.

I don't intend to start out a trip in rain, but things can change once you're a couple hundred miles from home. Is it likely that a water repellent ("breathable") cover will be sufficient to prevent saturation of the soft top canvas?

Yes, it will prevent saturation. Mine certainly does. It's the one that Performance Products sells that has the Mercedes logo on it, only I got it somewhere else cheaper.

Now to type . . .
 

I've seen two common types:
- a light gray single layer one, fairly stiff fabric, and
- a tan multi-layer one, soft on the inside like flannel (seems like this one might leave lint on the soft top), and the outside is sometimes textured like a waffle.

Which do you have?

I've got the grayish waffle one, but it doesn't leave any lint anywhere. This is the one I have:

http://www.************************/ProductPage.aspx?ProductName=Mercedes+Benz+Genuine+Car+Covers&productid=104025&producttype=20