I know this has been discussed so often, but this evening I tried to take all your suggestions to make a truly patriotic red frosting. I started with a Snow White Buttercream for he white - it lookds great! Now, time to make the colors.... I tried doing it pink first - still salmon! 
Tried the Americolor Super Red and Red Red - still salmon! Went back to Wilton No Taste Red - still salmon! 
And I was working with only about a cup of each color (red, white, and blue). I finally said OK, just use it, and I added lots of red sugar sprinkles on top so they do look a bit redder. By the way, they're going on a cupcake tree with little flags stuck in each one for a party tomorrow...So please, can you help another poor soul who is relatively new to decorating to make that danged red icing???!!??Thanks for all the wonderful help and ideas and people I've found here - what a super community of people! I'm honored to be a part of it. 
PAT
i have a 4th of july cake to do too... i will be using wilton red. i have christmas red and no taste red.. am i going to end up with pink or salmon? is there a trick to getting it red? 
Red icing does take a LOT of color to get it the bright red you're trying for. To make it a little easier, try adding some cocoa to it. Frost 1 cupcake, or box top tonight and let it set. Then check it out tomorrow to see if it's the right shade. You can always add more, You might also want to add some cherry juice. Helps with color and camoflaging the bitter taste. Did u use Wilton's No Tase Red? (I hear Americolor makes a stronger color)
I was told in class that red, brown and I think she said black take a LOT of color. My instructor says it usually turns the icing bitter, so she tries not to use any of those colors in great amounts, if at all. She also recommended starting with the cocoa, especially for deep browns.
They use Americolor.
A trick I use to achieve a deep red is add cherry Kool-aid to the icing. This keeps it from being bitter by adding too much dye and the icing tastes like cherries. I do add a bit of dye to start with and then add the cherry Kool-aid. Works like a charm.
I also remember reading a tip when working with a whole batch of buttercream (small or large) Instead of using water use liquid food coloring as the liquid in the recipe. This will help get you to at least a good pink then you can add more coloring.
My recommendation is making the whole batch in red and whatever you don't use freeze for a later use. Then you are using your mixer to do all the work =)
Definitely give it a day or night to sit so you can see the true color it will turn.
HTH
Leily
Thanks, everyone...it does look a bit better this morning, but I still have that "orangey" sensation about it. I will try the cocoa next time, and, pdrinkard, do you use the powdered unsugared or sugared KoolAde, or do you mix it upa as a drink first? That would give way too much liquid for the color, wouldn't it? And last question - am I right that most people prefer Americolors, especially for the darker colors? Oh - how does powdered food coloring do? I have a jar of blue, but haven't tried it yet. Thanks again and again! PAT
In our Wilton class, our instructor mentioned that when doing darker colors like red, start with another similar color first. So when making red, make it pink first, then add the red coloring. For black, make gray first and then add the black coloring.
Tammy
i have a 4th of july cake to do too... i will be using wilton red. i have christmas red and no taste red.. am i going to end up with pink or salmon? is there a trick to getting it red?
Wilton's Christmas Red will never give you a true red--it will always be a nice hot pink! I have countless students try to make a nice red red with it and no matter how much they use, and no matter how long it sits, it only gets a deep hot pink. 
For a cup of icing, I really have no problems using just a bit of my Americolor super red and getting a very nice red. shebaben, what is the lighting like in the area you are working in? That makes a difference, sometimes. I know that when I work in my kitchen late at night, colors look different in the regular kitchen light as opposed to when I am working in the day and have bright sunlight. Natural light really shows the true color of the icing.
I have also tinted chocolate icing red, but keep in mind that it will be a deep dark red and if you are looking for a bright red, adding cocoa will make it hard to make it bright.
If you add Kool-aid then add the unsweetened. There is more than enough sugar in the icing to sweeten it. Just add the powder, do not mix with water. (You can add a just a bit of water if you want to just make sure you add less milk or water to your icing to compensate) You don't want it too runny. Happy tinting!!
Patrice
i can't wait to try the kool-aid. is there a website for americolor? i have never seen in it in alaska.
I never thought about the lighting...I'll bet you're right! My kitchen has a 4 bulb fluorescent mixture for light, and it WAS after midnight when I was doing this!!! 
When I delivered tham and set them up this morning, they were quite happy with them. You know, I've used maraschino cherry juice with the chopped up cherries for icing, so I guess that would work well too, if the cherry flavor were OK for the project.
I started out with Americolor super red, then tried their red red, then dumped in Wilon no-taste red! I had already colored it with Wilton's pink.
Would having used Rose rather than Pink have made a difference?
After I was thoroughly disgusted with my first try, I started over with plain white and used the Americolor super red, and ultimately, both batches looked almost the same! Go figure! I'll keep working on this....oh, I make chocolate icing to tint black - it's a cinch! Thanks again for ALL your help!!! PAT
Oooooh, pdrinkard, that is maybe the best tip I have found on this website, and I've found SEVERAL that are vital to my decorating skills. It's just that getting a true red is SO frustrating, but now that I know your secret, I will have to give it a try! I know that Kool Aid's Tropical Punch is also bright red, so I assume you could use that, too!?! Thanks, again!
I used quite a bit of the no taste red for my Elmo cake. It does set better if you let it sit overnight.
Great Kool Aid tip!!!
Angie
hey, i just tried the kool-aid method and started a new thread to show people how great it works (couldn't find this one at the time)
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-31102.html
When I want a true red, start with pink, add red--I have used wilton no taste and americolor--and then I add a touch of burgandy to it. Just remember that red will change color, especially when you mix colors. The next day, it will be much darker and it can get bitter, so be careful about having a ton of it on there. I love the kool aid idea!!
Also, when I worked at a bakery, they had a light chocolate icing--Rich's Bettercreme--that made the most beautiful red. Just using the choc. icing and red paste. So, you might experiment with a light brown first.
~~Donna
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