I have a request for a gold and white birthday cake for a 75 year old lady. Will I have to paint the fondant gold or is there a dye?

You may be able to dye it gold, but it will be dull and need to be painted or preferrably airbrushed to get the nice shine.

Americolor makes a gold dye but it is really more of a warm yellow, not a metallic gold. You could use it as the base color and then paint w/gold luster dust dissolved in vodka if you don't have an airbrush.

Kristy

Thanks for the tip!

Are you doing gold accents on a white cake, such as these?
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1550769

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1245284

Or are you trying to make the whoe cake gold, such as this one?
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1732129

If you want to do the whole cake, then probably air brushing is the way to go. If you are just doing accents, then mix the gold dust with a tiny bit of vodka or lemon extract and paint it on. The surface of the fondant should be a bit dried to work best.