Short answer
Some do, explicitly. One North American siding maker's warranty allows solid colours 4 ΔE (Hunter) units of change over ten years but allows variegated or painted colours 7 units and covers them for only seven. Others state a single threshold for every colour. A coatings maker's own guide explains the reason for a difference: organic pigments are generally cheaper and fade faster than inorganic and ceramic ones. No maker publishes how often it pays fade claims.
A fade warranty is a promise about a measured colour difference, not about how a building will look. The documents reviewed here all work the same way. A threshold is set in ΔE units on the Hunter scale; fade beyond it within the term is the maker's problem and fade below it is the owner's. Alside's vinyl siding warranty defines excess fade as a change greater than 4 Hunter units. A sample finish warranty published by a US metal-roofing supplier for a PVDF coating warrants against colour change of more than 5 ΔE units for forty years, calculated in accordance with ASTM D2244 and measured on an exposed surface that has first been cleaned of soil and chalk. That document also notes that fading may not be uniform where surfaces are not equally exposed to the sun. Four or five units is a clearly visible change, so every one of these warranties permits fading that an owner will notice.
The clearest case found is a polymer siding warranty effective from January 2013. Its fade table has two rows. Solid colours are covered against fading of more than 4 ΔE (Hunter) units for ten years from installation. Variegated or painted colours are covered against fading of more than 7 units for seven years. A buyer choosing a painted or multi-tone finish from the same catalogue therefore accepts nearly twice the permitted change and three fewer years of cover. The split is by how the colour is made, through-coloured or applied to the surface, not by hue. Other warranties make no distinction: the vinyl siding document applies one threshold to its whole range. The sample metal-roofing warranty is a form whose colours are set project by project, so the form alone does not show whether particular colours are treated differently.
AkzoNobel's guide to warranties on coil-coated metal sets out the materials reasoning in plain terms. It sorts pigments into three classes. Organic pigments have good but usually not ultimate durability, are more susceptible to fading over time and generally cost less. Inorganic pigments mostly give excellent long-term performance at a higher cost. Ceramic pigments, mixed metal oxides made at very high temperatures, are described as the most colour-stable available, again at higher cost. The same guide says all paint warranty claims come down to three things: film integrity, colour retention and chalk resistance. A trade article by a metal-building coatings manager makes the link to hue: fade warranties are typically affected by the proportion of organic to inorganic pigment in a colour, and bright yellows, oranges and reds, usually made from organic pigments, fade faster. Such a colour costs less in pigment and more in risk, and the maker can price that risk into the coating, shorten the term, raise the threshold or decline to offer the colour.
A fade warranty rarely pays in full for long. The polymer siding document sets the maker's share of the remedy by the age of the installation when the claim is made: 100% for the first four years, 80% in year five and 60% for years six to ten, or six to seven for painted colours. Its remedies are repair, replacement, or a refund of the purchase and original installation cost, at the maker's choice. The vinyl siding warranty likewise applies a declining schedule once the property has changed hands. Both warn that replacement material may differ in colour and gloss from weathered material beside it, which is the practical sting: a wall that has faded past the threshold is repaired with panels that no longer match the rest. A claim made late in the term can leave the owner paying a large part of the cost of a mismatched repair.
A warranty term is a commercial decision and should not be read as a durability measurement. The coatings maker's own guide says so, warning that warranties are not always a reliable indicator and that performance claims are sometimes just claims. The evidence of how a coating weathers is exposure testing: architectural coating specifications such as AAMA 2605 set limits on colour change after years of outdoor exposure in South Florida, and the colour ageing section explains how such tests work. Two things remain unpublished. No maker reviewed here reports how many fade claims it receives or pays, by colour or otherwise, so the cost of colour-dependent fading to makers is unknown. And the warranties reviewed are North American, for siding and metal panels; Colourwise did not find comparable published terms to compare for other regions or for vehicles.
| What it concerns | Colour or finish factor | Published figure | Where and when | Kind of evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymer siding fade warranty | Solid colours | 4 ΔE (Hunter) units, for ten years | North America; Warranty effective 1 January 2013 | Documented industry practice |
| Polymer siding fade warranty | Variegated or painted colours | 7 ΔE (Hunter) units, for seven years | North America; Warranty effective 1 January 2013 | Documented industry practice |
| Polymer siding fade warranty | Age of the installation when a fade claim is made | 60 % maker's share in years 6–10 (years 6–7 for painted colours) | North America; Warranty effective 1 January 2013 | Documented industry practice |
| Vinyl siding fade warranty | Any colour in the range | more than 4 Hunter units of ΔE | United States; Warranty effective 26 September 2013 | Documented industry practice |
| PVDF-coated metal roofing and wall panels | Colour change of the factory finish | 5 ΔE (Hunter) units, for forty years | United States; Undated sample warranty, read October 2026 | Documented industry practice |
| Paint warranties on coated metal building panels | Bright yellows, oranges and reds made with organic pigments | No figure published | United States; 2015 | Documented industry practice |
| Factor | How it becomes cost | What the record leaves out |
|---|---|---|
| Solid colours | The maker promises that fade will stay under a measured colour difference for a set term, and pays a falling share of replacement after the first years. | One maker's terms; a warranty limit is a commercial promise, not a predicted fade. |
| Variegated or painted colours | The same warranty allows these colours almost twice the colour change and covers them for a shorter term than solid colours. | One maker's terms. The split is by how the colour is applied, not by hue. |
| Age of the installation when a fade claim is made | The maker's share of the remedy steps down with age, so a late fade claim is partly paid by the owner. | The same table gives 100% for the first four years and 80% in year five. |
| Any colour in the range | Fade is only a warranty matter above a stated colour difference, so visible change below it is the owner's to live with. | One maker; the document applies a single threshold to all its colours. |
| Colour change of the factory finish | The finish warranty sets a colour-change limit over decades, measured on a cleaned surface against the original. | A sample form from one supplier; the colours it applies to are set per project and are not listed in the sample. |
| Bright yellows, oranges and reds made with organic pigments | Fade cover is typically affected by the proportion of organic to inorganic pigment in a colour, so the palette chosen changes how long a finish is warranted. | An industry opinion piece that names no warranty terms or figures. |
Each statement is labelled by kind — established fact, a standard’s requirement, observed market data, a convention, or Colourwise’s own interpretation or analysis — with the strength of the evidence behind it.
ConventionStrong evidence· North America· Warranty effective 1 January 2013
A polymer siding warranty effective 1 January 2013 covers solid colours against fading of more than four ΔE (Hunter) units for ten years and variegated or painted colours against more than seven units for seven years.
Caveat: One manufacturer's terms, read in a copy hosted by a distributor; they may have been revised since.
Source: Novik siding limited warranty (effective 1 January 2013)
ConventionStrong evidence· North America· Warranty effective 1 January 2013
The same warranty limits the maker's share of the remedy to 100% in the first four years, 80% in year five and 60% in years six to ten (six to seven for painted colours).
Source: Novik siding limited warranty (effective 1 January 2013)
ConventionStrong evidence· United States
A US vinyl siding warranty defines excess fade as a change greater than four Hunter units of ΔE, and a sample PVDF metal-panel finish warranty sets five ΔE (Hunter) units over forty years measured to ASTM D2244.
Caveat: Two makers' documents; the metal-panel document is an undated sample form whose terms are set per project.
Source: Alside siding lifetime limited warranty (effective 26 September 2013); Sample paint finish warranty (Dura Coat PVDF system)
FactModerate evidence
AkzoNobel's guide to coil-coating warranties describes organic pigments as more susceptible to fading and generally cheaper, and inorganic and ceramic pigments as more colour-stable at higher cost.
Caveat: A qualitative ranking by one coatings maker, with no prices or test data; individual pigments vary within each class.
Colourwise interpretationLimited evidence
Where a warranty distinguishes colours, the buyer of the less stable colour carries more of the fading risk through a higher threshold, a shorter term or both; the published terms do not show what that risk costs either party.
Based on: Colourwise's comparison of the warranty documents and the coatings maker's guide recorded in the observation dataset behind this page.
Caveat: Four documents from North America for siding and metal panels; no claims data were found.
Reviewed 6 October 2026. Colourwise summarises its sources in its own words and does not reproduce standards text or proprietary colour data. Spotted an error? Tell us.