I want to use my airbrush and spray pearl on some pieces of fondant.I really could use some reassurance from those who do this all the time.I am scared to clog it up but I think if I do it right with the ratio of mixing and clean it out really good right after...it may work.Can anyone give me any tips on ratio of vodka to pearl dust..how thin? and does the pearl spray really show the inperfections??


Laurel

I've not tried this, BUT every time I've seen someone try it on one of those cake competitions on Food Network, their gun clogs up.

That's why I use a Preval sprayer...I can shoot tons of luster dust through it and my airbrush remains in the box, unclogged. LOL

I sprayed a cake just today in a combination of super pearl and white sparkle dust, using vanilla vodka. I mixed about a quarter cup of vodka to about 6 grams of dust. I already uploaded the picture of the cake to my gallery if you want to see if it shows imperfections. I saturated it pretty well with dust.

Edit: the cake is not showing up in my gallery, so here's the link: http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-gallery_display_566053.html

You can see some fingernail dents in the fondant, which are indeed highlighted by the pearl dust.

What is a Preval sprayer and where do you get them?

I have used Everclear and luster or pearl dust in my air brush many times. I have only had one problem with it getting stopped up and that was just cause I had the mixture too thick.

Make it really thin. You may have to go over it several times but that is easier than dealing with an airbrush that won't spray when you want it too.

Preval sprayers are not made for use with food and thus are not labelled "food safe." They were discovered by someone here as what Duff Goldman uses (you can see him use it on the episode where he does the Leno cake). If memory serves correctly, I read on here that he was introduced to the Preval sprayer from Mike of Mike's Amazin' Cakes. It is a small propellent-based can of charged air which allows you to airbrush colors and dusts onto your cakes without having to have an airbrush and compressor (or if you want to spray things you otherwise wouldn't want to shoot through your airbrush). You can purchase them at Home Depot for under $5, and the charged air refills are around 3 bucks. The propellants used in the charged air canisters are the same ones used in other common kitchen items, such as Pam and other vegetable oil sprays. It is up to you to decide whether they are food safe or not. There have been numerous debates on this subject here which you can access by searching for "Preval."

One of the reasons I love mine so much is that I can mix a pretty thick mixture of vodka and pearl dust, and get a lovely uniform and heavy coating of pearl dust on my cakes. Yesterday I mixed mine too thin and it took multiple coats, causing some of my streamers to droop before the alcohol evaporated. I also hate having to take apart my airbrush, so I never shoot dust through it. There are airbrush grades of dusts available, though.

Hope that helps!
Sherri

Very interesting! Can I just airbrush regular color through it too? Or do I need to buy special airbrush color? I think this may be a good option for me being that this will be my first experience with an "airbrush" and will be a learning experience!
Thanks for your post and the information!

I don't know, but hopefully others who use their Preval sprayers for coloring will chime in!

I have prevail sprayer I bought off of ebay with several others on here, I use it for covering wide areas of coverage that I am not too detailed with. I use it especially when covering the sides of my cakes. I bought this to see if I would poss use a airbrush, and boy did I like this so an airbrush I got. But I still use it when I only need a small amount done and don't want to go get out everything for my airbrush. I have used luster, petal and sparkle or disco or pixie dusts too!