How Can I Make My Icing A Bright Red?
Decorating By firsttimer Updated 19 Jan 2007 , 3:07pm by paolacaracas
I'm using the wiltons christmas red paste (gel), and it looks more like a hot pink color. I want my shells to be bright red.
you can add a tiny drop of black to your frosting and that may help but then your probably going to get a deep red rather than a bright red I have used americolor red which i have more luck with than wilton good luck.
I got a gorgeous deep red by starting with cherry kool-ade. Then, finishing it off with a couple of squeezes of Americolor Red Red. This was in about a cup and a half of buttercream...enough to make several roses.
It took about an hour or so for the color to fully develop.
BUT....it tasted like I made the roses out of Sour Patch Kids....which might be fine for some...but a bit of a shock to others! 
My red roses can be seen in my pix....the white heart recently added.
I don't have access to buy the Americolor pastes around my area so I have to use the Wilton red or a coloring brand called Spectrum. I use the paste and then I usually end up putting in some of my airbrush coloring. It is Americolor and it makes the best and brightest red I have ever seen without the bad taste. I don't know what it is about the airbrush coloring, but it makes a big difference in the reds. I just mix it in like I would a paste. It really darkens up as it sits. I have found that putting it in the frig or freezer for a little while tends to speed up the darkening process.
I haven't had a chance to buy the Americolor pastes either, but I found that if I started with a tiny, tiny bit of brown first and then a lot of the Wilton red, it does turn to a better red after it sits for a while. It usually takes a few hours sitting out.
i only have wilton around me (acmoore and michaels) so i asked my insturctor cause i got hot pink as well. She said you have to use red red. I did and you need to use A LOT. i think they have no taste as well so if you are using large amounts of the icing you might want to try that.
I only have Wilton around me too unless I order it off the internet (which can be pricy when you add s/h). ANyway, I usually do a bunch of No Taste Red, and then add a touch of Christmas Red. That usually gives me a nice color. I used the kool aid package with a touch of colored gel to make the LIghtning McQueen cake in my pics. It did make a nice red color, but it tasted terrible. I don't recommend that if you're frosting a cake with it, but for small touches, it's probably ok.
I have had luck starting with a pink color then adding red, you do not use so much. Also, as already stated, by letting it "cure" for a couple of hours. Red and black are why I placed my first order for Americolor this past fall, they are harder to achieve with Wilton.
Tracy
When I did my Lightening McQueen cake I started off w/ pink...let it set for a bit then I added No Taste Red ( a lot of it) I think Red-Red and especially Christmas Red leaves a bitter, yucky taste and since I want my icing to taste good I just use pink and No Taste Red and let it set. The longer it sits the darker it gets.
The best way to achive real bright red, without adding too much color is airbrushing it. Works best with rolled fondand. See the cake in my photos, is very red.
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