I currently don't own a weathered warrior & don't recall ever thinking much about it before. However, I have some debate on whether it is primarily the sun or the heat that causes the black ones to fade over time.
The question I have that might somewhat solve the debate is, assuming you've cleaned the inside before, what color was the INSIDE of your CLEAN weathered warrior? Is it as faded as the exterior?
Good point. I have never seen the inside of a lid or bowl that matched the fade on the outside of the kettle. The fade has always been external.
Here is a thread from last year discussing causes for fading.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/what-causes-the-'faded-black'-kettles/
Inside is always factory black. Unless it's a mid-late 60s Kettle where they used a blueish-grey enamel inside the bowl and lids for a time, depending on their porcelain contractor..
GRAILS: 1950s era Black or Custom finish 22.5, 1978-1980 Blue 22 MBH, 1974-78 Lime 18.5 MBH
I would think it would be UV exposure. The outsides fade, but the insides don't, at least in the ones I have seen...
I've always assumed fading was primarily from the sun, but others have pointed out that often the fading seems to have occurred equally on the bottom. If it was strictly from the sun, it would seem the bottom would be as faded unless the bowls were left outside upside-down or something.
At the same time, I was always under the impression that the INSIDE tended to stay black, which suggests the sun must be involved in the fading.
I just picked up an old patent pending 18" black with transitional wheels that is faded (unles they made them in grey), so I'll get to check out the inside out myself after I clean the gook, but I suspect it will be a much cripser black.
I going with sun fade, both of mine have darker streaks that I'll assume were grease stains in a prior life.
Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club (https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=91018)