- Parts of my object are white in the 3D view - why?

You’ve imported an RGB Mask (see What is an RGB/RGBA Mask?) that is using more colours than you have enabled in the pattern slots. For every colour you add to your RGB Mask, you must also ensure the equivalent pattern's Enabled setting is True:
Red = Pattern A
Green = Pattern B
Blue = Pattern C
Alpha = Pattern D
For example: if your RGB Mask uses the colours red and green only, Pattern A and Pattern B must be enabled, but Pattern C (and if available, Pattern D) must be set to Enabled: False.
See also:
What is an RGB/RGBA Mask?
Object Creation Part 2: Object Textures
