DKW NZ 350

Hello
can someone tell me what type of material is used to make a blackout cover?all the wartime foto's i see are in black and white.so it looks alot like leather was used sometimes?doe's anyone have a original cloth type cover that they can post a foto of?
thanks
jeff

It's hard to tell from original photos the color and texture of the cloth, but a mixture of canvas and leather parts was commonly used in a variety of patterns. Most were hand made, or improvised, and some were all metal. Typically there is a circular leather portion containing the slot to let the light through, surrounded by canvas, all sewn together, with canvas folded over and sewn to provide channels for the tie laces.

Old Timer Garage has some reproduction blackout covers for sale, but the fit is not so good. They tend to be cylindrical in shape and not shaped to the teardrop form of the headlight, although they do work. I have one myself. You can probably make a better fitting one from photos off Old Timer Garage or those found in other messages in this forum.

Normally the lamp was just painted during the wartime in the same colour as the bike. There was also a metal cover. The now available covers are a compromise between save driving without cover and the authentic look with the covers. The one available at Oldtimer Garage is a good item featuring that compromise, I think.

YOU ARE ALL CORRECT, BUT THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF VARIATIONS OF THE TARNDECKE. THERE WERE ALL METAL LENSE COVERS, METAL WITH A CLOTH BAND, LEATHER AND CLOTH, RUBBERIZED CLOTH, OIL CLOTH, EVEN TREATED PAPER AND PRESSTOFF (CARDBOARD) AND JUST ABOUT ANY COMBINATION OF THE PREVOIUS. I EVEN RECALL SEEING A BAKELITE LENSE COVER THAT WAS FITTED IN PLACE OF THE GLASS. SOME USED BUCKLES AND STRAPS, SNAPS, TIES AND DRAW STRINGS. THE COLORS VARIED WIDELY AS WELL DEPENDING ON THE PERIOD AND THE MATERIALS USED. CANVAS COLORS VARIED FROM GREY TO GREY GREEN (FELDGRAU), KHAKI, OLIVE BROWN AND BROWN. PRETTY MUCH ALONG THE SAME SPECTRUM AS GERMAN FIELD GEAR CANVAS FOR THE PERIOD. LEATHER WAS NATURAL OR GREY FOR THE MOST PART. RUBBERIZED CLOTHS WERE USUALLY GREY OR FIELD GREY. OIL CLOTHS WERE GREY OR BLACK AND THE TREATED PAPER I HAVE ONLY SEEN IN TAN AND BLACK(ON EBAY.DE.). THERE REALLY IS NO EXACT STANDARD. THERE WERE DOZENS OF MANUFACTURERS OF THESE AS WITH MOST GERMAN MILITARY ACCESSORIES. USUALLY LOCAL COTTAGE INDUSTRIES THE LATER THE WAR PROGRESSED. FLIP THROUGH HORST HINRICHSEN'S BOOKS ON WEHRMACT MOTORCYCLES. THE VARIATIONS YOU WILL SEE IN ORIGINAL PICS WILL MAKE YOUR HEAD SPIN.

There were some frontline made covers in thousand variations, but the question is: Would you really like to drive your bike with self-woven (or glued) covers, that everyone laughs about? For me, only the factory offered covers would be allright.