ASo I am getting pretty good with icing and fondant. I am wanting to begin airbrushing! Now how to start?

What is a good starter machine/compressor?

First, figure out what kind of airbrushing you want to do. Just small details and petal dusting? then one of the units with the ultra small air pump may be all you need. Want to paint a cake gold? that same small unit caaaaaaaaaan do it. If you have a couple of days.

My Number 1 recommendation: buy equipment that you can get spare needle and fluid nozzles for. These parts WILL wear out and you WILL need to replace them. 

Do a search here on Cake Central - there's been lots of discussion on this very topic.

To be a tad bit self serving - I teach the Craftsy Master Class on Airbrush - it is a comprehensive introduction to airbrush including a review of equipment and work space set up.

Also, here is a free PDF download I made for Chef Rubber that goes over the basics: 

http://chefrubber.com/uploads/Introduction%20to%20Airbrushing%20-%20Chef%20Rubber.pdf

AThanks Lisa for the PDF, that is really instructive.God bless you.

I've been wanting to try this for a few years and my husband bought me an airbrush for Christmas which, I admit shamefully, has sat in the box since. mainly because I'm a little scared to try it... Lisa I have actually purchased your course on crafty so I should really crack on with that.

Let me know how you get along with my class - and ask away! That's what I'm here for.

All I can say is watch Lisa's Craftsy Class.  Once you understand more about the airbrush it will not seem half as scary.  I'm a real beginner at airbrushing and it helped me a lot.

I'm glad my class was a good investment for you!

The Craftsy team are a great group. It was a privileged to be invited to participate.

what brand do you recommend for begginers?

There are a lot of good brands - my rule of thumb, be certain you can get replacement parts.

If the equipment is soooooo cheep that spare needles and replacement nozzles are not offered, that is a red flag.

I've seen many a student throw money away because their equipment was so cheep that it couldn't function properly.

Main brands include Grex, Iwata, Badger and Paache.

However, each brand offers a wide range of airbrush styles - and some are better than others.

Focus on what STYLE of airbrush and how big a compressor is needed to do the airbrushing you want to do. From there you can price shop.

Thanks :) I bought a Kopykake C3500R Air-Master . I'll be making a very simple project, and i don't want to buy an expensive gun yet. I just wonder if i can use other brands of airbrush gun with my kopykake compressor. Will the cheap airbrush guns on ebay will work? thanks

Kopykake sells both single- and double-action airbrushes, so take a look at the users manual to see which brushes are compatible with the compressor you have. Many low-power compressors have single action airbrushes (they blow air as soon as the power is turned on). This class of air pump often cannot handle the back-pressure caused by a double action airbrush (push trigger down for air, pull trigger back for paint). The risk is the air pump will overheat and can shorten it's life.

If the airbrush is attached by pressing onto a plastic tube, then other manufacturer aribrushes may need an adapter.

If the compressor can't handle the back pressure of a double action airbrush, the tube may blow off/

AAs many people have mentioned it really depends of what you want to achieve with airbrushing. Both single action and double action airbrushes are great but a double action airbrush will always give you finer detail and a more controlled finish. I only ever use a double action airbrush, an iwata eclipse but in our classes we teach with a single action airbrush purely because most people starting out will purchase a single action due to the big price difference between the two. Whatever you choose I strongly suggest kopykakes food airbrush colour. It is reletively cheap and has the strongest colour by far so outlast every other brand we have tried. If you do choose to airbrush with mettalic colours by Lucks for intsance a stronger compressor than the mini ones that come with a set will be needed due to the thickness of the colour. Whatever you use airbrushing can be amazing , just practice and have fun and your confidence will soon grow.

THANK YOU LISA !!!!!! I am so glad I ran across this post.  I am also new at airbrushing and I have been teaching myself by watching YouTube and just practicing,  I feel comfortable with it except when I need to do the lettering.  I have been practicing by wrapping paper around cans in the pantry and spray those....lol My husband thinks I'm nuts lol.  I just wanted to add that since I was new to airbrushing (and I got a great deal) I bought the Cake Boss brand and I love it.  I have absolutely no problems with it.  It is small enough that I can carry it when I have to go set up on site and it's fairly quiet.

AMy air brush stopped working. One minutetit was fine the next it wouldn't spray out the color anymore. Anyone kno where to get them looked at

Brenda,

Have you disassembled and cleaned it?

Depending on the brand, there may not be any technical support for your airbrush. What system do you have? 

A[quote name="LisaBerczel" url="/t/769293/airbrushing#post_7566942"]Brenda,

Have you disassembled and cleaned it? Depending on the brand, there may not be any technical support for your airbrush. What system do you hav

A[quote name="Brenda09" url="/t/769293/airbrushing#post_7566943"][quote name="LisaBerczel" url="/t/769293/airbrushing#post_7566942"]Brenda,

Have you disassembled and cleaned it? Depending on the brand, there may not be any technical support for your airbrush. What system do you hav[/quote

]I've taken it apart and cleaned it. But still nothing. I'm not sure on the system all I have is the irem number

Can you post a picture of your system? Once I know what you have, I can help.

A

A[IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3314527/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

Ok. The picture helps. Now for a ton of questions.

1) Does air blow out the airbrush when you pull the trigger back?

2) Does the trigger pull all the way back to the grip? Or stop part way there?

3) What happens when you try to airbrush just water? Nothing... or are there any air bubbles in the color cup?

4) Can you remove the needle? is it damaged?

5) What happens when you twist open and then close the air valve that is under the color cup (right before the trigger).

A1. Air does blow out. 2.the trigger does pull all the way up 3. I can't even airbrush water 4. I haven't figured out how to remove the needle. But the very tip is slightly curved but its always been like thay and it worked before. 5. When I tighten it nothing comes out even air. I can loosen it but color **** doesn't pass threw 5.

Ok. Progress!

Removing and wiping off the needle is a standard step in cleaning the airbrush - and should be done whenever we're finished airbrushing the day.

At the Back of the airbrush is a silver handle. Unscrew and remove. This will expose the back of the fluid needle - it is held in place by a Chucking Nut. Loosen this nut and the fluid needle can be removed. HOWEVER if the needle's tip is too bent it will hook on the fluid nozzle. This is BAD as the needle can rip the fluid nozzle if you're too forceful.

Fortunately, I suspect that you hopefully have an easy fix. If the needle is stuck in place then the airbrush may have color in it that has dried and locked the needle in place. 

You may have to soak your airbrush (in soapy water or an airbrush cleaner) to soften the dried up color. DO NOT completely submerge your airbrush. Water will get into the handle and air path. Soak just the front of the airbrush - the actual fluid path.

Even though you have a trigger style, all airbrushes have the same basic operation along the fluid path.

Here's a link to a PDF on basic airbrushes that may help with showing the different parts and what to watch out for with the needle/nozzle: 

http://chefrubber.com/uploads/Introduction%20to%20Airbrushing%20-%20Chef%20Rubber.pdf

Also, Grex Airbrush hired me a couple years back to do a youtube series on culinary airbrush.

I do show basic operations and such with a trigger style airbrush.

AThank you. I am going to try that and hope it works

If i have to buy an airbrush for cake decorating. which do you recommend more, the single action or the double action Thanks!

Single action is basically like airbrushing with a hair spray can. No where near the finesse of a double action airbrush. But, single action  can be easier to learn and to clean because of how simple it is (fewer moving parts).

So, it depends on what kind of airbrushing you want to do. If you're ONLY doing big gradients and solid coverage, single action may a good fit. Harbor freight sells a super inexpensive external mix single action kit.

If however you want to focus on petal dusting and such, then a double action is the way to go. Much more versatility.

Can i still use double action if i need the effect of the single action gun can give. So that i dont have to buy single action if i have double action already.

You only need a single action airbrush if you're going to be working with color that won't go through the airbrush you have. Say, as in, colored cocoa butter and you have a detail (basic) airbrush. In that case, you'll need a larger needle/nozzle size airbrush to spray cocoa butter. A single action in this instance may be a good fit.