Spraying On Pearl Dust?

Decorating By sahrow Updated 29 Jan 2009 , 2:25pm by sahrow

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sahrow Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 3:19pm
post #1 of 16

I saw a cake (or two or three) that said they sprayed on luster dust. How do you spray this stuff on a cake? Do I mix it with vanilla and use my airbrush? Will it clog the needle? Can I spray on pearl dust?

Or am I missing something and there is another way to spray it on?

Thanks.

15 replies
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eme926 Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 4:13pm
post #2 of 16

You can either mix it like you described, or you can purchase the Pearl airbrush spray.

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j-pal Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 8:44pm
post #3 of 16

Usually when I want to airbrush with my pearl, I'll mix it with vodka making VERY sure that there are no lumps. It needs to be thinner than when painting with it, but if it's too watery you have to go over it too many times. You can actually buy pearl airbrush color (as well as gold and silver) already thinned and ready to go.

(I use the vodka, of course, to make sure that it dries much quicker. The alcohol evaporates much more quickly than water, vanilla or many other liquids.) Good luck!

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RHONDALA Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 9:00pm
post #4 of 16

could you just put the dust in a little spray bottle with the vodka then spray it on? just wondering

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j-pal Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 9:07pm
post #5 of 16

You might be able to, but I'd think that the spray would not be as fine as is needed and it might come out a little blotchy. Might depend on the spray bottle. You also can't "aim" it as finely as you would an airbrush, but depending on what you're using it for, it might not matter. If you try it, let us know how it worked!

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KHalstead Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 9:25pm
post #6 of 16

I've tried to dilute w/ vodka, vanilla, lemon, everything I could find and it always clogs my airbrush..........so I bought an 8 oz. bottle of pearl airbrush color and it works wonders (if you look at this cake below, you'll see it's nice and sparkly) and I paid about 15.00 for the bottle w/ shipping which seemed sooooooooooooo expensive at the time but I use it on almost EVERY cake I have and I've had it for over a year and I'm not even 1/4 of the bottle gone yet!!!!! It's gonna take me forever to use it up !! lol
LL

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RHONDALA Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 9:30pm
post #7 of 16

Thanks! that looks pretty even and you can tell it's dusted, think i'll try that method, can't afford a airbrush right now!!

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kakeladi Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 10:37pm
post #8 of 16

Ooohhhhhh Tina your cake is soooo pretty. Not only the pearl sprayed on but the creation itself is beautifulicon_smile.gif

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indydebi Posted 15 Jan 2009 , 10:48pm
post #9 of 16

Or you can buy the PME brand luster-dust-in-a-can like I do! It doesnt' come in silver, but I love the pearl and the gold!

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sahrow Posted 16 Jan 2009 , 2:23pm
post #10 of 16

Thanks all!!!

I think I will try using it with vodka in my airbrush until I can get some of the air brush liquid. If it clogs, I'll just have to take the time to clean it out.

Now I know what kind of "experimental cake" is going to go to work with hubby next week!

I think the AB stuff would come out way cheaper in the long run. I bought my original AB colors close to 20 years ago and it lasted forever!

I stepped out of cake decorating for others about 8 years ago (life got in the way) and recently moved to a new state and decided I want to get back into decorating for more than just my family. I've had so much fun the past couple of months! Thank you all for posting here and taking the time to share pictures and ideas. Before I quit, there was nothing like this available, so decorating was a little boring. Y'all have rekindled my interest!

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fabfour Posted 16 Jan 2009 , 8:33pm
post #11 of 16

I agree with indy, I use the PME lustre spray. It can be kinda pricey, $10-$15 a can but a new airbrush pen is $80. I clogged my even by using the stuff made for an airbrush.

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KHalstead Posted 20 Jan 2009 , 2:59pm
post #12 of 16

I've never had a clog w/ the pearl airbrush coloring........the only time I had to clean the brush was one time when I left some in the brush and didn't rinse it through with water and it dried......but that would have happened with ANY airbrush coloring!

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jlsheik Posted 20 Jan 2009 , 3:06pm
post #13 of 16

I just got the pearl sheen by Amerimist (Americolor) at 2.49 a bottle is a better deal...I have had no probs with clogging...but I clean mine right out. I love to pearl dust or spray and it looks fabulous!!

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-K8memphis Posted 20 Jan 2009 , 3:07pm
post #14 of 16

When I spray with pearl dust I mix each airbrush batch separately. I don't mix up much at a time. Just a little. And just keep mixing n mixing. However, I'm definitely going for the nice easy product next time.

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fabfour Posted 20 Jan 2009 , 3:19pm
post #15 of 16

Maybe I just had a bad pen to begin with. I still have a bottle of the airbrush stuff, It's BakeryCraft pearl airbrush.

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sahrow Posted 29 Jan 2009 , 2:25pm
post #16 of 16

Thanks everybody....

I finally tried this out (Hubby's coworkers have a cake to munch on today...lol) and it worked well.

I mixed the pearl dust with clear vanilla since that is what I had on hand. I practiced on a rose that didn't look all that great just in case it didn't work or was blotchy. It worked fine, though.

I ended up spraying my roses and the surface of the cake and that part turned out beautiful.

The part I wasn't thrilled with was the fondant. *lol* I've only covered one cake w/ fondant before, so this was my second. I made the "mistake" of using a heart shaped pan (the Wilton -one mix -heart tier cake) and stacking the tiers directly on one another. It was HARD to get the fondant smooth on such a small cake with so many little crannies so close to each other. To make it worse, I got my frosting too soft and thick... and it was chocolate, so I had trouble with getting chocolate on the fondant when it squished out the bottom (as I moved it to position the fondant). I wiped as soon as I caught the mess, and put roses over the worst spot. *lol*

I uploaded a picture last night... http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1307533

next try will be MMF... I'm dying to use something that tastes good!

... oh.. and thanks to a CC member nearby, I have the info I need to get legal so I can sell cakes!!! I plan to get my paperwork filed soon. I;m so excited, yet worried about my cakes being nice enough for people to pay good money for.

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