SketchUp file imported to another one - materials synchronization

Hello all,
I am using SketchUp Pro 2021. I have a complex model I am working on, and in order to stay organized, each material has a different color. However, I wish my final product to be white and gray, and would like to have an idea of it, without changing the colors I work with right now. I was thinking, that I could create a new file, import the different groups from the original model, edit the colors, and then, whenever I change something in the original model, I would reload. I tested it with some plain objects and it seems like everytime I reload the file, the materials go back to the ones of the original model.

Is there a way to import the model, but keep the material editing ?

It would help a lot.
thank you in advance

By final product do you mean rendered images?

Which areas do you want to be white and which gray in your model?

Yes, I mean the rendered images.
Well, I would like the floors to be white, the beams to be gray, some windows to be a different shade of gray… In general, I would like to have the freedom to edit the materials of an imported skb file, and keep them edited when I reload the model.

When you say ‘rendered images’, do you mean images exported directly from SketchUp (File > Export > 2D graphic), or will you use an extension for rendering, like V-Ray for example?

.SKB files are the backup files, Sketchup use .SKP as a file extension.

I mean the images exported directly from SketchUp.

Try Color by Tag

I tried it, and I see that when coloring by Tag, it indeed keeps the colors. I have to organize my model again, and give tags to all materials. I was hoping to find an easier and quicker way. However, it does work.

Assign tags to groups and components, not to raw geometry. And apply materials to faces inside the groups. Anyway, you should group each constructive element and then give it a corresponding tag from the beginning.

I have everything in my model grouped, and then grouped to bigger groups. I work using mainly the outliner. I haven’t use tags much, as I don’t export 2D drawings. Thank you for your time and help.