Can I trust extension cord colors to tell me the gauge?

No, extension cord colors aren’t standardized enough to rely on for gauge. While there’s a loose convention—orange often means 12-gauge, yellow 14-gauge, blue 16-gauge—many manufacturers don’t follow it, and colors can indicate environment (like outdoor-rated) instead. The only reliable way to know the gauge is to read the print on the jacket, looking for something like “12/3 SJTW” where the number before the slash is the gauge.