I actually tried to de-fret a guitar earlier this year, but I totally wasn't ready. I think part of the problem was that I probably moved the truss rod too much too fast (I'm guessing) after the setup, because I had everything going fine until I had to adjust the neck. Now, the truss rom isn't working, so my work was for naught. I decided to see if it was do-able instead of trying to de-fret another, though that may be what I end up doing.
Also, the different color fretwire sounds like a good idea if I do add frets. Thanks for the tips, guys.