Food color & airbrushing

Raymond · Joined: 28 Nov 2008 Posts: 230 Location: Latvia.Riga

Hi Airbrushing guru! Can anybody tel me, it is possible use food colors with airbrush?Want to do for decorating cakes.

Linda Topel · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 2039 Location: Chicago Area

Hi Raymond...........I'm not a guru.......but absolutely.......it just of course needs to be designated for food only
.....try this site http://cooksdream.com/store/airbrushcolors.html

Raymond · Joined: 28 Nov 2008 Posts: 230 Location: Latvia.Riga

Linda Topel · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 2039 Location: Chicago Area

Raymond.......use ONE airbrush for food ONLY............and a second airbrush for paint ONLY.........NEVER mix eatable and non eatable in the same airbrush

There is a thread on brushes and compressors....Iwata spraygun questions.......in the murals topics

http://www.fauxforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3943&highlight=

I use an Iwata and a paasche..........both very good.........as for compressors I have a large one ...6 hp....that my husband puts a regulator on when I use it.........I'm not very knowledgeable about those things......I just tell him what I want to do and he takes care of it

Hope this helped Smile

lisascenic · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:27 pm Post subject:

Are you all familiar with this website?

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

A source of great merriment for my demented heart.

lynne · Joined: 27 Jan 2007 Posts: 4960 Location: san francisco

wow. i love cake.

alliekat · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:22 am Post subject:

best baby shower cake...ever

fontgeek · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:49 am Post subject:

As it was already stated you can use an airbrush for food coloring, in fact, if you can make something liquid you can airbrush with it. From food coloring to chocolate, makeup, watercolors, gouache, oils, lacquers, acrylics, varnishes, stains, dyes, inks, etc.
If you are going to airbrush food products then it is best to have dedicated brushes for that. The potential on cross contamination and someone getting ill or worse, and the lawsuits that would follow aren't worth the risk.
For airbrushing food coloring you only need about 7-10psi. Gravity feed airbrushes tend to work better because they don't require as much pressure to operate.
I would look at brushes from Iwata, Grex, Paasche, and others. Keep in mind that you need to consider replacement parts and service too. While there are some dirt cheap knockoff/copies out there their quality tends to be inconsistent at best, and more often than not you can't get replacement parts or service for them, and when they break down, and they will, you are stuck with an expensive paperweight.

For food coloring you can use almost any size of needle and nozzle available.

There are gun style triggers, push button style triggers, top feed, side feed, siphon feed, single action, double action, internal mix, and external mix, there's even an airbrush that uses a tiny turbine!

stencilist · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:23 pm Post subject:

Hi Raymond,

I agree that you should keep a separate airbrush for food. We carry Iwata airbrushes and I checked with them about which brushes would be most appropriate for cakes. They recommend the Revolution BR or the HPB+, which both are gravity fed with small orifices which they said will spray better at low pressure, around 7-10 psi. If you spray at high pressure it will separate the frosting. http://www.iwata-medea.com/index.php/products/airbrushes/

I recommend the HPBS Eclipse Siphon feed airbrush for a first painting airbrush, because it is very versatile and color changes are easier since you can get a number of jars with various colors in them rather than having to dump out. I do have an airbrushing basics video available if you're interested, available through Pat's Faux Warehouse or our website.

If you are spraying mostly cakes, a small diaphram compressor might be a good choice, but if you plan do wall work or a lot of studio work, get something with an air holding tank. Your compressor should also have a pressure regulator and an automatic off/on switch. The cost can range anywhere from $99 for a small one at a home improvement store (which will be loud) to $500-$900.00 for a nice silent compressor. If you go the home improvement store route ask them to plug in the demo so you can hear how loud it will be.

You can email or pm me if you would like further details. Have fun!

Sheri

fontgeek · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:40 pm Post subject:

Things to keep in mind for any airbrushing, the airbrush can only get detail as fine/small as the opening in the nozzle, the smaller the nozzle the smaller the detail capability of the BRUSH. But with that small sized nozzle comes the limitations in how broad an area it can cover in a single pass.

More often than not the real limitations on detail are with the painter not the airbrush itself. Tiny nozzle make it easier to get fine detail, but they are also more problematic with clogs, thick paint, and impurities. The smaller needles and nozzles tend to be more expensive too.