Is any one brand better than another? Do some clog your airbrush system?
Do some not dry quickly?

I've had some bottles since I graduated from culinary school - 12 years ago and they haven't dried out at all. They are mostly KopyKake Brand, but I haven't found much of a difference among brands. I just buy the color and size bottle I wanted.

I've only used one brand, and thats the Americolor. I've never had issues with it, I would recommend it to anyone. You can see if there is info online, and check reviews.

I use Americolor as well but I have also used kopykake.I too have some that are several years old and still good.

Thanks for the replies.

I want to thank Barb for posting my questions before me lol. But i have a few more questions.

How much can i expect to get out of a bottle? What type of coverage and how much paint do you drop in the brush before you start ? ( 0.7oz bottle ).

I settled on getting AmeriMist, but i don't know how big to get the bottles ( im getting a kit of 12 ). They have 0.7oz, 4.5oz and 9oz.

I tought of getting the 4.5oz to start learning, i have no clue what im doing yet my airbrush is in the mail.

I also need a place that as a very good price of free shipping. Because i live in Canada.

I don't plan to airbrush cakes for quite awhile while i practice on paper or whatnot. How did you guys start ?

Pyro - got to laugh as I am in the same boat. Airbrush on its way; have no idea how to begin. . . Seems like Amazon has the Amerimist colors, but do I need that many to begin with? (Rhetorical question). I am thinking I will buy some pearlescent white and silver for the holidays and then a basic red, blue, green and yellow. I am a hobby baker, but love to try out new things. My co-workers love my experiments!

Well after hours of search ( litterally ) i finally found where to buy my paint in Canada. The worst part is i knew about this website since i started searching but then ended up looking at so many places i forgot about it lol. Vanilla food company.

I got a 2 gallon oil-less compressor. A Badger TC omni 4000 brush with a badger 10 feet braided hose for 115$ total ( all on sale, retail 265$ ).

Tought some people swear by their little silent machines with cake names, i tend to have a really hard time buying things from companies who don't specialise. What i mean is im never going to buy a microwave from a company that makes DVD players and Televisions...( ie: panasonic )

** Now my headacke is how long and how much airbrushing can i do with a 4.5oz bottle of AmeriMist. ** Anyone who uses this product please leave us an aproximate idea !

I plan on wasting ALOT of paint airbrushing random stuff like coloring books and practing strokes, lines and dots. First i considered only getting alot of black paint but since it's all the same price, some colors won't hurt.

Also here's a quick tip, alot of people clean their airbrush efficiently with very hot water. Just put it in a squeeze bottle ( like the ones for ketchup ). Every time your done with a color, dump the excess paint from the cup, flush out until the water comes clear, then flush the water until dry and your ready for a new color.

And to save paint, try to change colors as little as possible, doing as much of what you have to do with the colors your using before dumping it. Common sense.

Pyro, I have Panasonic microwave at home After 5 years of everyday use it's still as good as new. (Otherwise agree about non specialized manufacturers, it was just a casual purchase).