There was a significant time when the harbour took a massive downturn they where not painted as often as they should have been due to the cranes becoming terrorist targets at height of troubles. So they would fade very quickly due to the salt air off the lough and also city smoke / smog etc as the Kaywoods coal area was only a few hundred yards from it where they also processed coal, slack, etc when it came in off the ships.
I asked my dad earlier and he seems to think it was around 1986 to almost 1990 when things where quite bad here, and then they got fully refreshed in 1995 for the Bill Clinton visit.
Bill Connelly did a visit to the cranes in 2002 for a TV show and you can see them again VERY manky looking when all funds was being sent to the redevelopment of the Quay side area which only officially ended of the large Odessey development in June 2001. However in 2003 they became preservation landmarks once they go beyond usable life span.
Additionally there's a bit of an old wives tail about a man stealing from the ship yard storage area, several gallons of the yellow paint. He then proceeds to drive home in his old Bedford van, up Dee Street, up the Newtownards Road to his home in the Connswater / Albert Bridge Road area.
Only problem was the paint had fallen over and it had leaked and dripped the whole way home, and the Harbour Police followed it to his address!
Now I've chased this one before, and everyone's heard it, but I've never found it officially recorded as a crime, but depending on who stole the paint, it might have been looked the other way in the interests of "peace" lol. And the wierd thing is, everyone says Bedford van, not a transit. I'd say there's some half truth in it.
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