I finally gave in and bought an airbrush/compressor and all the goodies. However, I don't know how to airbrush the pearl dust. I know I would have to mix it with alcohol (vodka) or vanilla with the dust but I'm not sure as far as the consistency. If anyone with experience on how to do this can respond, I would appreciate and help. Thank in advance.

Ana

Ooh I am soo going to follow this thread

It's easier to just buy the pearl paint. Or the silver (or gold) paint. But as for mixing, it needs to be thin, and after that it's mostly trial and error.

I agree with Leah - just buy the airbrush pearl or gold. Americolor actually has a whole set of colors that are "pearled" now, and they are very reasonably priced, IMO.

Bummer, I'm in China, I have the dusts but the paints weigh a lot more and shipping is expensive

Far less clogging of the airbrush if you buy the premixed as mentioned above. If you are mixing it from scratch, you must make it incredibly thin which, IMHO, does not cover as well or give the same effect one derives from the premixed colors.

Great! I'm going to go to my local cake supply store and I'm crossing my fingers that they will have the mixed pearl colors there. Thanks for the advice.

Update: I went to my local cake decorating supply store and I bought the airbrush bottles of silver and pearl. It wasn't too expensive. I will be using it a little later. Thanks for the help!

ok ursula40, if you have only the pearl dust. Then mix vodka, or pure lemon extract, etc. with the dust. Mix it in a little plastic cup or something. mix it really well and thin. It will work great for you. That is what we all did , before the airbrush sheens came out. AT least , i have done it this way plenty of times. Now i do use the airbrush sheens. You will have to CLEAN your aribrush really good with hot water or if you have the cleaner , use that also and the hot water. I never had a problem using the dust this way., because i made sure i cleaned my airbrush really good after each use. hth

I've only used my airbrush once so far & it was to apply pearl to fondant. I have the Airmaster & called KopyKake to ask what to use. He said not to use the pre-mixed liquid pearl b/c it would clog a lot. I bought Americolor Liquid Pearl and Crystal Colors powder to try both of them out. I tried the liquid 1st & it clogged right away. Tried 2 more times which resulted in spattering & clogs! I ended up using the Crystal Colors mixed with Everclear and it never clogged the 1st time. If you use the powder, just make it pretty thin. You can apply more coats if needed. I would also use the highest pressure to apply the pearl (if you're spraying fondant). Also, clean the brush very frequently with Everclear. Just pour some in the cup and spray. If you're not going to spray for a few min, clean the airbrush.
I sprayed a 4 tier cake with Crystal Color pearl with no clogs. It's the green and pink round 4 tier in my pics:
  http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1682065.html
Crystal Colors are a little pricey, but it really goes a long way. I used less than 1 small container on this entire cake. It's also one of the few FDA approved dusts.

if you can buy the premade excellent. Go for it. ( I see that you did) YEAH. but if you have the powders on hand and dont have a choice here are some options.

With airbrush: mix colors and everclear make sure they are thin. make sure you have a compressor that can put out 30 psi. (15-20 psi works fine for regular premixed americolor) But if you want to avoid cloggs all together then you want 30 psi. Also go with a larger needle, especially if you want to use luster dust. The larger needle will put out more mix and you wont have that spotty look, and it covers much better.

I love airbrushing and the advice i have given has never let me down or clogged my needle once. also make sure to run straight everclear through your needle after rinsing it out with very hot water. It will dry the needle and sterilize it for next time.

alternative: mix everclear and dust together, and put into sterilized spray bottle. I have 3 designated ones. you can adjust the spray pattern and they usually dont clog, and are easy to unclogg if they do. Just have a sterilized needle/pin on hand. Turn bottle upside down and insert needle into the opening and that usually fixes the problem.

I hope others offer advice on the airbrush system I am anxious to see their techniques as well.