Hello I am new to cake decorating and just bought a house and am remodeling my kitchen. I am also looking to buy a airbrush gun as well as a mixer.

My questions are there any cheap airbrushes out there I can buy or do I have to purchase something thats crazy expensive? I heard a few ladies say they have bought some for $19.99 do they work as good?

ALSO Mixers....what kind should I get...watts, brand etc?


Thank you
Brandi

Welcome, you will love this site!!! it becomes addictive...I find Im only going to sit here and have coffee in the morning...maybe 1hr...next thing you know...its 3-4hrs later, and Im moving around the house cleaning and clicking my mouse.

I havent tried air brushing yet...but would love too...but this is my thought, I hate to spend 200.00 on something I might not be able to work with and cant handle. So I was thinking for home projects and to practice of buying a model store air brush kit...for like 20.00-35.00 and try that to see if I like it and can work with it...if so...then if I still need something bigger than I will graduate and now on higher.

I dont know if this will work, or if it would be money wasted, but Im sure I can use the item for something else around here. Hope this helps.

There are other posts on here that talk about a small airbrush that you can buy at Sherwin Williams, (maybe Walmart) Very inexpensive to experiment with. Seems like it was $4 or $5. I think it was called a "Prevaler?" From what I understand it is a jar with an attatched hose? I haven't tried it yet, but plan to. Anyway, just put airbrush in the search box & it may come up for you. Good luck hope you find it. Maybe someone else can give you more help.

The Preval Spray Gun can be purchased in the paint department of big box stores or probably at a paint specialty store, but they are more like aerosol cans. You can apply all-over color fairly well with them, but they are not anything like an airbrush.

I just bought an airbrush off of Ebay for around $80 including shipping (it was a powercat brand) and I LOVE IT!! Can't imagine doing cakes without it anymore! I just completed a cake order for a first bday cake that I could not have done without it.(See my pics!) I was intimidated at first, but I just started playing with it and I learned pretty quick! I wouldn't go out and spend $200 on one, but get a mid-range one like I did so you are not scared off by a cheap one that is hard to use and might not give you great results. Good luck!

Welcome to CC and to the world of Cake Decorating! For the mixer, as stated before, watch for the wattage. I like having my mixer stationary so the "Kitchen Aid Lift Mixer" works great for me. It fits under my upper cabinets and I don't have to pull it out to use it. If it had a tilt head I would have to pull it out.
For the airbrush, I use the KopyKake airbrush. I know it is completely food safe. I bought the smallest compressor because you really don't need much power for airbrushing cakes. I got the airbrush and compressor for $125. and they included 4 bottles of airbrush color. If you buy a cheapy one just to try it may not be the same thing. Some of them have metered sprays and just give you a blast of color. You want one you can really control and make tiny lines with.

I bought my compressor and airbrush at Harbor Freight. Compressor about $70 (give or take if you catch it on sale. The airbrush wa around $15 (same thing price varies depending if it's on sale.) Do a search in the forums for airbrushes, that's where I got the info I needed. You want to make sure it has a low PSI, a moisture filter, and is oil less.

As far as mixers, after stripping out the nylon gears on one, I made sure my new one was all metal gears. They are getting harder to find though. Mine is a KA Accolade, I don't think they make that model anymore, but not sure. Unfortunately KA seems to be decreasing their quality of equipment to get it to a lower price. IMO they are putting their good reputation on the line. I guess I would suggest thinking about what you will use it for. If it's only for batter, any mixer would probably work. If you're doing fondant or heavy doughs, I would wait until you can get they mixer you really want. Just my opinion, hope it helps.

Yes there are cheap airbrushes out there you can buy but they don't work as good. You wont be able to get fine lines with them and will probably have "spatters" in your all over coverage. You know the old saying "you get what you pay for" and it is definately true when it comes to cake decorating tools. As stated above a mid range might serve your purposed but I don't think you'd be happy with a $20 or $30 one. JMO

Brandi,
Where do you live? I work w/ a guy who is trying to sell a Kitchenaid (the big one). He just got married and already had one and so does his new wife - he likes the head tilt kind so he decided to keep his I think he is only asking like $250 for it.

The airbrush I want to buy is the Aztek A470 It's pricey but I hate to buy stuff twice. My moto is when it comes to electrical stuff you don't want to be cheap, because you end up spending more money anyway. If anyone can recommend better and cheaper just point the way and I will follow.

As far as mixers I would never buy anything other than a Kitchen Aid, I mix everything in mines, bread, cakes fondant, can't function without it.

[quote="Maria_Campos"]The airbrush I want to buy is the Aztek A470 It's pricey but I hate to buy stuff twice. My moto is when it comes to electrical stuff you don't want to be cheap, because you end up spending more money anyway. If anyone can recommend better and cheaper just point the way and I will follow.

That's the airbrush I have and I dearly love it. I took a class where everyone else had the kopykake and there was such a difference in the finished product. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thank you everyone for your replies you have helped me out alot, and yes CC is waaaay addicting haha