When using multibody modeling SolidWorks doesn't store appearance customizations; applies appearances even when the option to apply appearance is deselected in the material dialog box; and changes where appearances are applied i.e. appearances are applied to bodies, but SW changes the selection to faces. There is no rhyme or reason why this happens and the problems multiply when using display states & exploded views.

Is anyone else having problems? Any solutions out there?

I use multibody parts/weldments for quite a bit of my work. Very often I need to change appearances for documentation or presentation purposes. It is both frustrating and embarrassing that these problems exist. Producing quality documentation is a key part of my job and SolidWorks is failing me. I'm currently using SW 2016, but I recall having these issues as far back as 2013.

(Please don't tell me to submit an SPR to my vendor. Reporting problems to SolidWorks is an effort in futility. It's a black hole with no feedback, transparency, or responsiveness. This is the Twitter era. Customers expect feedback!)