Dave, I think when it comes to the colors, you just have to keep doing it, in order to figure it out, trial and error, about what works and what doesn't work. I know it's really hard when you're just learning SKS, because not only are you trying to figure out where which color shows up, you're also trying to figure out what WHAT the parts are and where you can see them, so you could figure out what colors work and which ones don't.
I doubt you'll ever get a comprehensive "this color effects this, this and this" sort of list of what the color sections all affect (even when SKS DOES offer a hint, it's always vague..."this color may effect this, this and some sections of this" sort of answer), it would be REALLY awesome if a section that DIDN'T support something (i.e., text) didn't have a TAB for that something, so you weren't driving yourself up a tree looking for the best choice of skinning that part, when that part wasn't skinnable in the first place. 
