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Vinyl Fence Buyers! Limited Color Choices Await You

As I said in an earlier chapter, vinyl does not come in a wide range of colors. Like that Procol Harum song “Whiter Shade of Pale“, it is usually limited to white, pale shades of grey or tan. This is because the titanium oxide pigment (a component of vinyl which prevents colors from yellowing or fading) makes it difficult to create darker colors.

Darker colors also absorb the sun’s rays so they don’t hold up as well. Likewise vinyl is graffiti proof so you just can’t “Paint it Black”. Why the pop music euphemisms? Just trying to brighten up this chapter because one of the few limitations of vinyl is it’s not very colorful.

Throughout the years, I have occasionally seen manufacturers come out with darker colors but they never did well and were dropped in time. I can’t tell you how many times I was asked if we carried black or green. If you come across these darker colors, be very careful with your decision.

It is a scientific fact that dark colored vinyl fades and deteriorates faster than light color vinyl so a more complex formula is necessary to protect and preserve them. So far, these attempts have not succeeded.

There was an exception to this in 2004. Someone came out with what they called “wood grain“. Originally produced in China, it looked great with real wood grains running through it. The line started out darker but again there were too many problems, such as warping, so they lightened up the color formula hoping to alleviate these complications and have been fairly successful.

A couple of years later, domestic manufacturers came out with their versions. “Wood Grain” is a beautiful alternative to wood, I love the look. If you do too, just be aware that some are better then others. Use care before you purchase and research them thoroughly.

When a company sells a tan, it can range from a beige (coffee with extra cream) to almond. The almond actually looks white unless you view it up against a piece of actual white vinyl. It’s important to understand shade differences as you may need more fencing in the future and it can be hard to match, unless you are buying from the same company as the original purchase.

This is a good time to examine “fading”. Commercial grade vinyl is engineered to maintain it’s true color for a lifetime. In reality, if you have tan, grey or wood grained fencing, over the years there will be a very slight and gradual fading. So slight and gradual you will not even notice.

However, if you put a piece of the original tan in your closet, took it out 10 years later and held it up to the rest of your fence you’d see a minimal fading of the color. I will say that the public continues to demand a broader color spectrum in vinyl fencing and due to this demand, the industry continues to experiment with it’s color formulas.

However, until someone comes up with a darker vinyl that can stand up to the intensity of our friendly old sun, vinyl fencing will continue to have a very limited palette. We are all hoping, that someday, vinyl‘s “…True Colors will come shining through.”

Excerpt from the Vinyl Fence Buyers Guide, Copyright 2008, Michael Goldman & David Spangenburg

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