Hello Ladies and Gents,

First time poster over here and I had a question on what everyone uses to water down their paints. I just found a company called Edible Art Paint and it is based in Australia which means they can legally buy Everclear 190 and Rose Spirit. Here in the US it's illegal to purchase Everclear 190 in my state and you can't find rose spirit here either. I saw that a lot of people use vodka but is there enough alcohol in it to evaporate quickly? How fast does it and does it leave a taste? I also saw that I can purchase Everclear 151 which is a lower proof but it only comes in a really big bottle. Thank you for your suggestions and if you can also add how long it takes to evaporate and if it leaves a taste. THANK YOU!

You can definitely use vodka (I've been playing with it all morning), which drys very quickly and does not leave a taste.  If you are reluctant to use vodka, use lemon or almond extract, which works beautifully.

I have only ever used vodka to thin petal dusts.  Yes, it evaps very quickly - within minutes.  I have never noticed a taste, and many others have posted that they don't either.

You want the highest proof clear drinking alcohol that you can buy. Proof is 2X the percentage of alcohol, so Everclear 151 is 75.5% alcohol, Everclear 190 is 95%. Some searching at a liquor store might help you find other brands that approach those levels. One of the reasons that high quality lemon extract works well is that it's usually 86-87% alcohol--and the lemon oil in it helps to keep the paint smooth. Other extracts have much less alcohol and the sugar in them can be a problem because sugar attracts water in the air and an make the paint grainy. HTH