diff --git a/R/scale-colour.r b/R/scale-colour.r
index 262b8cfbfb..8797d0b7c1 100644
--- a/R/scale-colour.r
+++ b/R/scale-colour.r
@@ -1,9 +1,31 @@
 #' Continuous and binned colour scales
 #'
-#' Colour scales for continuous data default to the values of the
-#' `ggplot2.continuous.colour` and `ggplot2.continuous.fill` options. These
-#' [options()] default to `"gradient"` (i.e., [scale_colour_gradient()] and
-#' [scale_fill_gradient()])
+#' The scales `scale_colour_continuous()` and `scale_fill_continuous()` are
+#' the default colour scales ggplot2 uses when continuous data values are
+#' mapped onto the `colour` or `fill` aesthetics, respectively. The scales
+#' `scale_colour_binned()` and `scale_fill_binned()` are equivalent scale
+#' functions that assign discrete color bins to the continuous values
+#' instead of using a continuous color spectrum.
+#'
+#' All these colour scales use the [options()] mechanism to determine
+#' default settings. Continuous colour scales default to the values of the
+#' `ggplot2.continuous.colour` and `ggplot2.continuous.fill` options, and
+#' binned colour scales default to the values of the `ggplot2.binned.colour`
+#' and `ggplot2.binned.fill` options. These option values default to
+#' `"gradient"`, which means that the scale functions actually used are
+#' [scale_colour_gradient()]/[scale_fill_gradient()] for continuous scales and
+#' [scale_colour_steps()]/[scale_fill_steps()] for binned scales.
+#' Alternative option values are `"viridis"` or a different scale function.
+#' See description of the `type` argument for details.
+#'
+#' Note that the binned colour scales will use the settings of
+#' `ggplot2.continuous.colour` and `ggplot2.continuous.fill` as fallback,
+#' respectively, if `ggplot2.binned.colour` or `ggplot2.binned.fill` are
+#' not set.
+#'
+#' These scale functions are meant to provide simple defaults. If
+#' you want to manually set the colors of a scale, consider using
+#' [scale_colour_gradient()] or [scale_colour_steps()].
 #'
 #' @param ... Additional parameters passed on to the scale type
 #' @param type One of the following:
@@ -13,7 +35,7 @@
 #' @seealso [scale_colour_gradient()], [scale_colour_viridis_c()],
 #'   [scale_colour_steps()], [scale_colour_viridis_b()], [scale_fill_gradient()],
 #'   [scale_fill_viridis_c()], [scale_fill_steps()], and [scale_fill_viridis_b()]
-#' @export
+#' @family colour scales
 #' @rdname scale_colour_continuous
 #' @section Color Blindness:
 #' Many color palettes derived from RGB combinations (like the "rainbow" color
@@ -40,6 +62,17 @@
 #' # The above are equivalent to
 #' v + scale_fill_gradient()
 #' v + scale_fill_viridis_c()
+#'
+#' # To make a binned version of this plot
+#' v + scale_fill_binned(type = "viridis")
+#'
+#' # Set a different default scale using the options
+#' # mechanism
+#' tmp <- getOption("ggplot2.continuous.fill") # store current setting
+#' options(ggplot2.continuous.fill = scale_fill_distiller)
+#' v
+#' options(ggplot2.continuous.fill = tmp) # restore previous setting
+#' @export
 scale_colour_continuous <- function(...,
                                     type = getOption("ggplot2.continuous.colour", default = "gradient")) {
   if (is.function(type)) {
@@ -70,7 +103,6 @@ scale_fill_continuous <- function(...,
 
 #' @export
 #' @rdname scale_colour_continuous
-#' @usage NULL
 scale_colour_binned <- function(...,
                                 type = getOption("ggplot2.binned.colour", default = getOption("ggplot2.continuous.colour", default = "gradient"))) {
   if (is.function(type)) {
@@ -86,7 +118,6 @@ scale_colour_binned <- function(...,
 
 #' @export
 #' @rdname scale_colour_continuous
-#' @usage NULL
 scale_fill_binned <- function(...,
                               type = getOption("ggplot2.binned.fill", default = getOption("ggplot2.continuous.fill", default = "gradient"))) {
   if (is.function(type)) {
diff --git a/R/scale-gradient.r b/R/scale-gradient.r
index 9e733712e9..cca53a10dd 100644
--- a/R/scale-gradient.r
+++ b/R/scale-gradient.r
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 #'
 #' `scale_*_gradient` creates a two colour gradient (low-high),
 #' `scale_*_gradient2` creates a diverging colour gradient (low-mid-high),
-#' `scale_*_gradientn` creates a n-colour gradient.
+#' `scale_*_gradientn` creates a n-colour gradient. For binned variants of
+#' these scales, see the [color steps][scale_colour_steps] scales.
 #'
 #' Default colours are generated with \pkg{munsell} and
 #' `mnsl(c("2.5PB 2/4", "2.5PB 7/10"))`. Generally, for continuous
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@
 #'   colour bar, or `"legend"` for discrete colour legend.
 #' @inheritDotParams continuous_scale -na.value -guide -aesthetics
 #' @seealso [scales::seq_gradient_pal()] for details on underlying
-#'   palette
+#'   palette, [scale_colour_steps()] for binned variants of these scales.
 #' @family colour scales
 #' @rdname scale_gradient
 #' @export
diff --git a/R/scale-steps.R b/R/scale-steps.R
index b5f9df301d..92677b10f3 100644
--- a/R/scale-steps.R
+++ b/R/scale-steps.R
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 #' @inheritDotParams binned_scale -aesthetics -scale_name -palette -na.value -guide -rescaler
 #'
 #' @seealso [scales::seq_gradient_pal()] for details on underlying
-#'   palette
+#'   palette, [scale_colour_gradient()] for continuous scales without binning.
 #' @family colour scales
 #' @export
 #' @examples
diff --git a/man/scale_alpha.Rd b/man/scale_alpha.Rd
index ea70477ebc..31c92b4c05 100644
--- a/man/scale_alpha.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_alpha.Rd
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ p + scale_alpha(range = c(0.4, 0.8))
 \seealso{
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_brewer.Rd b/man/scale_brewer.Rd
index d90259a514..e3e4994e5f 100644
--- a/man/scale_brewer.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_brewer.Rd
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ v + scale_fill_fermenter()
 \seealso{
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_colour_continuous.Rd b/man/scale_colour_continuous.Rd
index 816581b7df..50d169628b 100644
--- a/man/scale_colour_continuous.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_colour_continuous.Rd
@@ -18,6 +18,18 @@ scale_fill_continuous(
   ...,
   type = getOption("ggplot2.continuous.fill", default = "gradient")
 )
+
+scale_colour_binned(
+  ...,
+  type = getOption("ggplot2.binned.colour", default =
+    getOption("ggplot2.continuous.colour", default = "gradient"))
+)
+
+scale_fill_binned(
+  ...,
+  type = getOption("ggplot2.binned.fill", default =
+    getOption("ggplot2.continuous.fill", default = "gradient"))
+)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{...}{Additional parameters passed on to the scale type}
@@ -30,10 +42,33 @@ scale_fill_continuous(
 }}
 }
 \description{
-Colour scales for continuous data default to the values of the
-\code{ggplot2.continuous.colour} and \code{ggplot2.continuous.fill} options. These
-\code{\link[=options]{options()}} default to \code{"gradient"} (i.e., \code{\link[=scale_colour_gradient]{scale_colour_gradient()}} and
-\code{\link[=scale_fill_gradient]{scale_fill_gradient()}})
+The scales \code{scale_colour_continuous()} and \code{scale_fill_continuous()} are
+the default colour scales ggplot2 uses when continuous data values are
+mapped onto the \code{colour} or \code{fill} aesthetics, respectively. The scales
+\code{scale_colour_binned()} and \code{scale_fill_binned()} are equivalent scale
+functions that assign discrete color bins to the continuous values
+instead of using a continuous color spectrum.
+}
+\details{
+All these colour scales use the \code{\link[=options]{options()}} mechanism to determine
+default settings. Continuous colour scales default to the values of the
+\code{ggplot2.continuous.colour} and \code{ggplot2.continuous.fill} options, and
+binned colour scales default to the values of the \code{ggplot2.binned.colour}
+and \code{ggplot2.binned.fill} options. These option values default to
+\code{"gradient"}, which means that the scale functions actually used are
+\code{\link[=scale_colour_gradient]{scale_colour_gradient()}}/\code{\link[=scale_fill_gradient]{scale_fill_gradient()}} for continuous scales and
+\code{\link[=scale_colour_steps]{scale_colour_steps()}}/\code{\link[=scale_fill_steps]{scale_fill_steps()}} for binned scales.
+Alternative option values are \code{"viridis"} or a different scale function.
+See description of the \code{type} argument for details.
+
+Note that the binned colour scales will use the settings of
+\code{ggplot2.continuous.colour} and \code{ggplot2.continuous.fill} as fallback,
+respectively, if \code{ggplot2.binned.colour} or \code{ggplot2.binned.fill} are
+not set.
+
+These scale functions are meant to provide simple defaults. If
+you want to manually set the colors of a scale, consider using
+\code{\link[=scale_colour_gradient]{scale_colour_gradient()}} or \code{\link[=scale_colour_steps]{scale_colour_steps()}}.
 }
 \section{Color Blindness}{
 
@@ -65,9 +100,29 @@ v + scale_fill_continuous(type = "viridis")
 # The above are equivalent to
 v + scale_fill_gradient()
 v + scale_fill_viridis_c()
+
+# To make a binned version of this plot
+v + scale_fill_binned(type = "viridis")
+
+# Set a different default scale using the options
+# mechanism
+tmp <- getOption("ggplot2.continuous.fill") # store current setting
+options(ggplot2.continuous.fill = scale_fill_distiller)
+v
+options(ggplot2.continuous.fill = tmp) # restore previous setting
 }
 \seealso{
 \code{\link[=scale_colour_gradient]{scale_colour_gradient()}}, \code{\link[=scale_colour_viridis_c]{scale_colour_viridis_c()}},
 \code{\link[=scale_colour_steps]{scale_colour_steps()}}, \code{\link[=scale_colour_viridis_b]{scale_colour_viridis_b()}}, \code{\link[=scale_fill_gradient]{scale_fill_gradient()}},
 \code{\link[=scale_fill_viridis_c]{scale_fill_viridis_c()}}, \code{\link[=scale_fill_steps]{scale_fill_steps()}}, and \code{\link[=scale_fill_viridis_b]{scale_fill_viridis_b()}}
+
+Other colour scales: 
+\code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_steps}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_viridis_d}()}
 }
+\concept{colour scales}
diff --git a/man/scale_gradient.Rd b/man/scale_gradient.Rd
index af7720a1e9..cfd65b24cc 100644
--- a/man/scale_gradient.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_gradient.Rd
@@ -204,7 +204,8 @@ to map an arbitrary range to between 0 and 1.}
 \description{
 \verb{scale_*_gradient} creates a two colour gradient (low-high),
 \verb{scale_*_gradient2} creates a diverging colour gradient (low-mid-high),
-\verb{scale_*_gradientn} creates a n-colour gradient.
+\verb{scale_*_gradientn} creates a n-colour gradient. For binned variants of
+these scales, see the \link[=scale_colour_steps]{color steps} scales.
 }
 \details{
 Default colours are generated with \pkg{munsell} and
@@ -266,11 +267,12 @@ ggplot(df_na, aes(x = value, y)) +
 }
 \seealso{
 \code{\link[scales:seq_gradient_pal]{scales::seq_gradient_pal()}} for details on underlying
-palette
+palette, \code{\link[=scale_colour_steps]{scale_colour_steps()}} for binned variants of these scales.
 
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_steps}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_grey.Rd b/man/scale_grey.Rd
index a6812aafc7..f011de1970 100644
--- a/man/scale_grey.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_grey.Rd
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
 \alias{scale_colour_grey}
 \alias{scale_fill_grey}
 \alias{scale_color_grey}
-\alias{scale_color_gray}
-\alias{scale_fill_gray}
 \title{Sequential grey colour scales}
 \usage{
 scale_colour_grey(
@@ -117,6 +115,7 @@ ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_steps}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_hue.Rd b/man/scale_hue.Rd
index dc0699eceb..c8b77eb9b1 100644
--- a/man/scale_hue.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_hue.Rd
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@ ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_steps}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_steps.Rd b/man/scale_steps.Rd
index fa57f6a198..267716d478 100644
--- a/man/scale_steps.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_steps.Rd
@@ -225,11 +225,12 @@ ggplot(df, aes(x, y)) +
 }
 \seealso{
 \code{\link[scales:seq_gradient_pal]{scales::seq_gradient_pal()}} for details on underlying
-palette
+palette, \code{\link[=scale_colour_gradient]{scale_colour_gradient()}} for continuous scales without binning.
 
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},
diff --git a/man/scale_viridis.Rd b/man/scale_viridis.Rd
index 03dd0dbb5f..7246c07384 100644
--- a/man/scale_viridis.Rd
+++ b/man/scale_viridis.Rd
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ v + scale_fill_viridis_b()
 Other colour scales: 
 \code{\link{scale_alpha}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_brewer}()},
+\code{\link{scale_colour_continuous}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_gradient}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_grey}()},
 \code{\link{scale_colour_hue}()},