OBJECTIVE This laboratory study compared the shear bond strength between three indirect resin composites and a noble alloy using their respective bonding systems. METHODS One hundred twenty disks cast in a medium-gold, high-noble metal-ceramic alloy (V-Deltaloy) were divided equally into four groups and received different treatments for veneering: Conventional feldspathic porcelain (Omega) was applied on one set of specimens to be used as a control, and three indirect resin composites (Artglass, Sculpture, Targis) with their respective bonding systems were used for the other groups. The specimens were tested in a parallel shear test, half of them after 24-hour dry storage at room temperature and the rest after 10-day storage in normal saline solution at 37 degrees C and thermocycling. The fractured specimens were evaluated to determine the nature of the failure. RESULTS The mean shear bond strength values (in MPa), before and after wet storage and thermocycling, were 30 and 23 for the metal-ceramic group, 29 and 23 for the Artglass group, 20 and 19 for the Sculpture group, and 17 and 14 for the Targis group, respectively. The metal-ceramic and Artglass groups exhibited significantly higher bond strengths than the other two groups. All specimens, with the exception of the Sculpture group, showed a significant decrease in bond strength after wet storage and thermocycling. CONCLUSIONS No group exceeded the shear bond strength of the metal-ceramic group, but the Artglass group with its respective metal-resin bonding system exhibited similar bond strengths. The Sculpture group showed a stable bond after water storage and thermocycling.