Paint / finish warranty on carbon frames

I've noticed that some carbon frame manufacturers have a different warranty for the frame and paint/finish. For example, Look's warranty is 5 yrs for the frame, but only 1 year for the finish. What's the reason for this? I ask because I was worried that perhaps the appearance of carbon frames degrades noticably over time in comparison with well-painted aluminum or steel frames.

Many carbon frames seem to come in dark colors (black, titanium grey, etc). Is this because these are the easiest finishes to achieve on a dark carbon surface, or are there functional reasons, such as making defects, scratches, or wear less noticable?

Thanks for any feedback.

I think 1 year on finish it typical for any material. To my knowledge, there is no dominant color for CF, and many are clear coated. Look at some more stuff.

I think a lot of Carbon Bikes come in Dark colors because they contrast well with the Black Carbon, I ride a six13 which is a mixture of Carbon and Aluminum, it's a Saffron (Mettallic Orange) color and the Carbon painted surfaces look just as nice as the Aluminum Parts...

A lot of Carbon Bikes also come in bright/light colors, take the Blue and white Canondale Synapse for instance...

I wouldn't worry about the finish if I was you, just buy the Frame you prefer for ride quality...

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05 Cannondale Six13 Team Replica.

07 Cannondale Caffeine 29'er

Buy Ti and you'll never have to worry about a fragile finish again.

Calfee has some nice color schemes going. I didn't see a specific time for finish, but you should call them and ask. My local LBS that carries them, loves em.

http://www.calfeedesign.com/pages/warranty.php

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A person without an opinion is fairly safe, but seldom heard

Automobiles are the same way. You may get a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty but the paint is only warranted for 1 year.

ORBEA offers lifetime warranty on their CF frames and rigid forks. Something unheard of from other bike manufacturers. There is no mention on paints though. But if you see the paint works on an ORBEA, i think you would not worry about it much.

I am in no way connected with ORBEA. I am not getting anything from these. It just so happens that something has happened to my bike and i can say from first hand experience that their service & warranty is second to none.