If you're weighing up a coloured glass splashback for your kitchen, it's only natural to wonder whether the bold teal or soft sage you've fallen for will still look the same ten years from now, especially when it's going to spend its life behind a hot hob and, in plenty of homes, opposite a sunny window.
The good news is that a properly made coloured glass splashback doesn't fade over time, and the reason has far more to do with how it's made than with the shade you pick.
Most of the worry comes from what you've seen happen to other surfaces around your home, since painted walls, curtains and even cupboard doors can all lose their depth after a few years of daylight.
Glass behaves very differently, which means you can choose a colour based on the mood you want your kitchen to have rather than on which shade you think will survive longest, as long as you understand the handful of things that can make a splashback look tired and how easily you can avoid them.
Why a Coloured Glass Splashback Doesn't Fade Over Time
Every coloured glass splashback we make starts life as clear toughened Opti-White™ glass, which is then back painted using high-precision spraying equipment so the colour sits on the rear face rather than the front. Once it goes up on your wall, that painted side faces the plaster, so the only thing your cloth, your cooking steam and the light from your window ever touch is bare glass, while the colour itself stays sealed away behind it.
That's the whole reason painted glass splashbacks hold their colour so much better than painted walls or coated boards, because there's no exposed paint layer to wear thin, scuff or bleach out. Ultra-clear Opti-White™ glass also avoids the green tint you'd see through standard glass, so the colour you fall for on day one is a true reflection of the paint behind it, and it stays that way.
Do Coloured Splashbacks Fade in Sunlight or Heat?
Sunlight is the usual culprit when colours fade around your home, because UV rays slowly break down the pigments in anything left exposed, which is why a sofa beside a south-facing window ends up a shade lighter on one arm than the other.
With a coloured splashback, the glass sits between the light and the paint, so the colour is never left out on the surface where that kind of damage happens, and even a kitchen that catches the sun all afternoon won't wash it out.
Heat from your hob is the other worry, and toughened glass is typically resilient enough to cope with temperatures of up to 250°C, which comfortably covers the steam, splashes and radiant warmth of everyday cooking.
The one rule worth following is to leave a gap of at least 100mm between the edge of your hob and the glass, particularly with a gas hob, since a splashback is designed to be heat resistant rather than flame retardant and shouldn't come into direct contact with a flame.
The same thinking applies if you're tempted by a design rather than a solid block of colour, because our printed splashbacks are also printed on the reverse of the glass, using UV-cured inks that bond permanently with it so the image keeps its vibrancy in a sunny kitchen just as well as a plain shade does.
What Can Make a Coloured Splashback Look Faded?
While the colour itself is well protected, there are a few situations where a coloured glass splashback can end up looking duller or patchier than it should, and almost all of them come down to fitting, cleaning or the material you were sold in the first place. Knowing what they are before you order makes every one of them easy to avoid.
Using the Wrong Adhesive on a Coloured Splashback
If you're fixing your splashback with adhesive, you'll need a clear, low modulus, neutral cure product, because many adhesives, particularly those containing solvents, can react with the paint on the back of the glass and cause discolouration or bubbling that looks a lot like fading from the front. We can supply a suitable splashback adhesive with your order, the painted side should always go against the wall, and our help centre covers your fixing options if you'd rather use screws.
Cheaper Splashback Materials That Do Fade
Plenty of the stories you'll read about faded splashbacks actually involve something other than back painted toughened glass, such as acrylic sheets, vinyl wraps or painted boards, where the colour or print sits much closer to the surface. These materials can yellow, discolour or warp after years near a hob or in direct sun, so if you're comparing prices it's well worth checking exactly what you're getting and which side the colour is applied to.
Cleaning Habits That Dull Your Splashback
A film of grease or limescale can make even the richest colour look flat, especially on darker shades where water spots and dust tend to show up more readily. A microfibre cloth with a standard glass cleaner or warm soapy water is all you really need, abrasive pads and harsh chemicals are best kept well away, and a quick wipe while marks are still fresh will keep your glass splashback looking new far longer than any amount of scrubbing later on.
Lighting and Paint Matching That Fool Your Eye
It's surprisingly common for a splashback to seem as though it has shifted colour when really it's the light around it that has changed, since glass looks different in daylight, under LED downlights and in the evening.
Wall paint also fades as the years go by, so a splashback matched to walls painted long ago can appear to drift away from them even though the glass hasn't changed at all, which is exactly why we recommend ordering a 100mm x 100mm sample and seeing it in your own kitchen before you choose your splashback colour.
Find a Coloured Glass Splashback That Keeps Its Colour
A coloured glass splashback is one of the few parts of your kitchen you can choose purely on looks without worrying about how it'll age, because the toughened glass takes the heat, the steam and the sunlight while the paint behind it stays exactly as it was when it left us.
You can browse our full range of coloured glass splashbacks and order yours made to measure in a few simple steps, or use our free colour matching service if you've got a particular Dulux, Farrow & Ball, Little Greene or RAL shade in mind.
If you're still torn between a few options, think about how each shade will sit with your cabinets, worktops and natural light before you commit, and feel free to drop our team an email at info@directsplashbacks.com with any questions about colours, samples or fitting.
