lironp
-
Posts
142 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by lironp
-
-
4 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:
I'd guess silver, gold, and bronze metallic cocoa butters, could be backed with black or just dark chocolate in the mold.
but how do they get those black smudges? if it were just backed with black, then theoretically it should look more uniform, no?
-
I live these! Any ideas how they get the black/shimmery effect?
-
On 5/3/2020 at 10:02 AM, gfron1 said:
Does someone know which suppliers have these boxes? I can't find them through my regular sources and want to see how affordable they might be. Thanks.
Did you ever figure this out?
-
Also Papermart is pretty cheap and has a good selection
-
2
-
-
Chef Rubber cocoa butters-
After going back and forth with their support (hey, at least I got them to eventually respond which is a win), I am even more confused around the different lines they have- artisan, decor, jewel, natural, infused, zen.
Here is what I have gathered so far:
artisan- regular colors. natural- same type of colors made from natural ingredients (whatever that means)
jewel- artisan with added luster dust. zen- natural with added luster dust.
infused- infused with real flavors. I bought one which clogged my airbrush (and the color barely comes through on the chocolate). However, 1 customer representative assured me that it is intended for airbrushing, and another one told me that it isn't because the particles are too big. Sounded like a good idea, but I will not buy again.
Decor- again, conflicting information- 1 representative assured me it is good for airbrushing, another told me it is only intended for decor (not suer what that means- isn't airbrushing considered decor?)
So, my questions are:
1. Is the decor line suitable for airbrushing?
2. Does anyone have any idea what color is used to get this result?
-
On 9/22/2020 at 8:33 AM, Jim D. said:
At what psi do you have the compressor set? And approximately how much do you lower the pressure with the GMAC (I know that is difficult to tell because there is no gauge)? I lowered the pressure to 30 psi at the compressor control and had the GMAC completely open, and the spraying was incredibly slow, so I had to reset at 60 and lower it a small amount at the GMAC valve. I was going to post previously that setting the pressure lower will result in less backspray but in slower spraying. It all depends, I suppose, on your patience. I use the term "backspray," by the way, for the cocoa butter that bounces off the spray booth/box and back to the person spraying. It isn't really the same as "overspray," which usually refers (for most people, I think) to what lands on the molds outside the targeted cavities. Some regulator valves have gauges that provide the psi numbers at the airbrush, but the ones I have seen or used add quite a bit of weight to the whole setup.
I haven't actually figured out how to set the psi in the compressor, so don't actually know- whatever it was set to when I bought it?
It seems pretty strong when I open the GMAC till the end- when I spray the GMAC is open just a little bit, and I can finish a mold very quicklyno backspray at all, I do have some overspray but also because I am not experienced yet with aiming the airbrush to the right place
-
6 hours ago, Jim D. said:
Beautiful. Congratulations. The shine is very impressive, and the airbrushing looks as if you have been doing it all your life.
I of course just see the flaws 🤣
-
1
-
-
13 hours ago, jbates said:
Excellent work. Are the apple leaves part of the mold?
Yes. Although at some point i started painting them on after they were out of the mold (less shiny, but otherwise the darker green was sometimes stuck in the mold)
-
Finally have all the equipment and did my first big airbrushing project for Rosh hashana- after the first 100 or so, I finally got the hang of the apples and making the seam less visible, same for the pomegranates
https://www.instagram.com/lironpg/
www.mmm-chocolate.com
-
11
-
-
On 8/7/2018 at 4:33 PM, YetiChocolates said:
Ok... I’m now a convert. I decided to wash my molds with soap and buff the water out with a cotton ball (because of the calcium content in my water) and I have to say the chocolates do come out pretty shiny! Here’s a couple photos. And it cuts my cleaning time in half so I’m pumped!
Just finished reading through this thread, but apparently missed this part- arre you saying washing the mold with soap reduces the need for polishing each cavity?
-
6 minutes ago, lironp said:
Adding my 2 cents for @SweetSymphonybyM as Jim recently helped me a ton with this
Here is the setup I got that works like a charm:
TG5 GREX Tritium Top Feed w/ 0.5 mm Needle
TK-7 GREX Nozzle Conversion Kit 0.7mm (I switched to the 0.7 needle straight away, but I think there was someone using the 0.5 needle and said it was ok)
CP50-1 GREX Tritium Top Feed Cup 50mL (I actually don't need the large cup yet- I prefer several small cups as I switch colors quite a bit so far)
GMAC GREX Quick Connect w. Air Flow Valve (this is genius- allows you to control the air pressure easily from the airbrush)
AD12 GREX Adapter 1/8” M x 1/4” F (the 1/4" F is what my compressor required- that will depend on your compressor)GBH-10 GREX 10' airbrush hose (I got the 10' so I could move a little more)
1/4" NPT quick connector- the hose goes into AD12, which then needs a quick connect to connect to the compressor. Apparently there isn't much of a standard for quick connect, so I went to our local hardware store, they gave me 3 different types of 1/4" NPT quick connector, and told me to return whatever didn't work (and they said that if none of them would have worked I should get a set of coupler + plug kit to replace the coupler that is already part of the compressor).
California Air Tools 8010 Ultra Quiet & Oil-Free 1.0 hp Steel Tank Air Compressor, 8 gal, Silver - this is the compressor I got that was recommended to me by grex support. It is quiet, large tank, and has enough power to get everything out.
Master Airbrush® Brand Universal Clamp-on Airbrush Holder- for putting the airbrush down without the paint spilling from the cup.
Hopefully this is helpful- took a little bit of work to figure out, but everything is working like a charm.
I do also recommend purchasing from https://jerrycarterairtool.com/ who are the nicest guys ever and have amazing customer support, and not chef rubber (who don't have all the pieces, and also have consistently terrible customer support).
Regarding the natural cocoa butters - I tried 2 types:
1. Pomegranate infused cocoa butter- it keeps clogging my airbrush, and the little that does come out is so dull you can barely see it on the chocolate.
2. The zen series (which I think they claim is also natural)- much better than the infused, but still not as bright as the artisan or jewel which is my favorite.
oh, and my "spray booth" is a big cardboard box
Because it is very easy to control the pressure with the GMAC regulator, I don't get much overspray so nothing outside of the box gets color on it (and I did just spray around 20 molds at once)
-
1
-
-
On 9/19/2020 at 7:14 PM, Jim D. said:
Originally I decided the information below was too detailed and esoteric to include on eGullet, but now I'm going ahead, with the idea that it might be helpful to another in the future.
The diagram referred to is a drawing Grex tech support sent me; and can be found at this link. Please note some changes/explanations for the diagram mentioned below. I must state at the outset that I have very few mechanical/technical skills; I mostly followed directions and read a lot online to get this done. It is a setup for a more or less "permanent" connection for an airbrush; if you want to allow for using a paint gun, there are a few adaptations I could describe if desired.
I got all Grex items from Jerry Carter Air Tool, the only business I could find that had everything (Grex does not sell merchandise directly). Jerry himself was very helpful.
TG5 GREX Tritium Top Feed w/ 0.5 mm Needle
TK-7 GREX Nozzle Conversion Kit 0.7mm
CP50-1 GREX Tritium Top Feed Cup 50mL
GMAC GREX Quick Connect w. Air Flow Valve
AD21 GREX Adapter 1/8” M x 1/4” M
AD24 GREX Adapter 1/4” F x 1/4” FGBH-06 GREX 6' airbrush hose
As is obvious from the list, I use a 0.7mm needle, but for that, you have to purchase the 0.5mm airbrush and also the upgrade kit. Whether the 0.7 makes a huge difference, I do not know. But I do know that pastrygirl on eGullet is now thinking of upgrading to the 0.7, so she might be able to furnish more information on why she feels that way.
The 50mL cup is definitely what you need; otherwise you will go crazy refilling the cup.
The quick-connect air flow valve (which is attached between the airbrush hose and the airbrush) is really useful (more info below).
The two adapters (AD21 and AD24) are for the "permanent," non-quick-connect setup.
Items I bought elsewhere:
The Grex airbrush holder did not work for me at all, so I bought this one from Harbor Freight, for the grand total of $9.99. It works great. It does need attaching to something so that it doesn't tip over, and I found a small piece of tile at Lowe's to which I glued the holder.
I also got a moisture trap/filter at Lowe's. I'm not sure it's necessary, but I figured it couldn't hurt and it is recommended by many. Note that in setting up to airbrush, you will need some way to prop up the filter so that air flows from top to bottom.
And you will need a roll of plumber's teflon tape. If a connector has an O-ring to seal it tightly, that is sufficient, but there are some connectors that don't, and they need tape for a tight seal.
And here are my notes on the hookup of the system. Please excuse me if you already know a lot of this.
From the compressor, you need a typical air hose long enough to reach from compressor to close to where you will be airbrushing. Here's an example of such a hose. If you add a moisture trap, you need two such hoses (one from compressor to moisture trap, another from trap to airbrush, so they will be shorter hoses). The hose needs (or two hoses need) a male connector to the compressor, female connector on the other end. For this I have a quick-connect connector (1/4" male to connect to compressor, 1/4" female to connect to the air hose). Here's an example of such a quick-connect fitting.
From this hose to the moisture filter/trap, the diagram provides two options. The Grex AD24 (which is 1/4" female to 1/4" female) is sufficient (I see no reason for a quick-connect connector here since the setup will be "permanent").
Then the moisture trap needs to be connected to the airbrush hose. This is the end of the moisture trap that is blue in color in the diagram. Unless you plan to use another spray gun (such as an HVLP one), you don't need the quick-connect options and the AD21 is sufficient (note that the AD12 connector close to the green airbrush hose in the diagram) should have been included within the red rectangle, as it is not needed unless you are using the quick-connect option.
Then the airbrush hose needs to be connected to the airbrush. For this I strongly recommend the quick-
connect option (G MAC) as this has a pressure regulating knob that comes in handy. It is also great to be able to disconnect the airbrush quickly to clean out one cocoa butter color and/or place the airbrush in a warmer between brushings. As a side note: The Grex cannot do splattering with cocoa butter, and the pressure regulator will not make that happen, but it does come in quite handy when the viscosity of cocoa butter is causing an issue.If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. I knew none of this stuff when I started, and I owe practically everything to Grex tech support. Just one example: Having teflon tape is so taken for granted in the airbrushing/spraying/plumbing worlds that nobody told me I needed it until I spent a lot of time trying to make connections airtight and asked Grex.
I paid $300 for a Grex-branded compressor (actually from California Air Tools), but if I had it to do over, I would get something more like the California Air Tools 8010A ($198 on Amazon)--larger air capacity than mine, same (relatively) quiet operation, and less money. Since Grex no longer sells the compressor I bought, this is the one they recommended to the person I previously helped with these decisions. My entire setup (with the more expensive compressor) cost approximately $850, so this would be around $750.
Adding my 2 cents for @SweetSymphonybyM as Jim recently helped me a ton with this
Here is the setup I got that works like a charm:
TG5 GREX Tritium Top Feed w/ 0.5 mm Needle
TK-7 GREX Nozzle Conversion Kit 0.7mm (I switched to the 0.7 needle straight away, but I think there was someone using the 0.5 needle and said it was ok)
CP50-1 GREX Tritium Top Feed Cup 50mL (I actually don't need the large cup yet- I prefer several small cups as I switch colors quite a bit so far)
GMAC GREX Quick Connect w. Air Flow Valve (this is genius- allows you to control the air pressure easily from the airbrush)
AD12 GREX Adapter 1/8” M x 1/4” F (the 1/4" F is what my compressor required- that will depend on your compressor)GBH-10 GREX 10' airbrush hose (I got the 10' so I could move a little more)
1/4" NPT quick connector- the hose goes into AD12, which then needs a quick connect to connect to the compressor. Apparently there isn't much of a standard for quick connect, so I went to our local hardware store, they gave me 3 different types of 1/4" NPT quick connector, and told me to return whatever didn't work (and they said that if none of them would have worked I should get a set of coupler + plug kit to replace the coupler that is already part of the compressor).
California Air Tools 8010 Ultra Quiet & Oil-Free 1.0 hp Steel Tank Air Compressor, 8 gal, Silver - this is the compressor I got that was recommended to me by grex support. It is quiet, large tank, and has enough power to get everything out.
Master Airbrush® Brand Universal Clamp-on Airbrush Holder- for putting the airbrush down without the paint spilling from the cup.
Hopefully this is helpful- took a little bit of work to figure out, but everything is working like a charm.
I do also recommend purchasing from https://jerrycarterairtool.com/ who are the nicest guys ever and have amazing customer support, and not chef rubber (who don't have all the pieces, and also have consistently terrible customer support).
Regarding the natural cocoa butters - I tried 2 types:
1. Pomegranate infused cocoa butter- it keeps clogging my airbrush, and the little that does come out is so dull you can barely see it on the chocolate.
2. The zen series (which I think they claim is also natural)- much better than the infused, but still not as bright as the artisan or jewel which is my favorite.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, teonzo said:
You need to consider many more factors.
Spraying colored cocoa butter in your kitchen means everything else in that room will need to be cleaned. You could get a spraying booth that works fine (other money), limiting the clean-up, but you would have to give a thorough clean-up to your kitchen no matter what. This means time, this means money (other added costs). Sprayed cocoa butter has the tendency to go anywhere, with the risk of ruining other appliances, especially if they are the cheap models. If sprayed cocoa butter ends inside a motor of one of your appliances, then there is the risk that this motor is going to break. Time ago I witnessed the maintenance of a depositor, it had cocoa butter inside everything, and that place sprayed cocoa butter like 2 hours per week.
Within that price range you will always have to face one trouble or another with your set-up. You won't have enough pressure reserve to do your experiments. You will have to wait some time between each mold. You will start cursing with the cocoa butter getting cold while you wait. So on. No matter what you choose, you will end up unsatisfied. Simply because when you will learn a technique then you will want to pass to another one. Which is the reason why you are looking for an airbrush: with your current tools you are limited, you want to do something else. You will always have these limits, unless you get the big tools, which are well above your price range.
So you should ask yourself if you are going to keep it as a simple hobby or not. To answer this question you need to consider millions of factors that only you know.
If you want to keep it as a simple hobby, then my suggestion is to buy the cheapest solution, then be patient. Which you already are, since you are doing chocolate bonbons by hand at home. Get the solution with the smaller overspray, so your clean-up will be limited.
If you are aiming to get more serious, then wait until you are confident about spending more money, then spend it once for the correct set-up that will satisfy your needs for more years possible. Or you spend the less money possible, or you spend the money to get the best set-up possible. Better avoiding in-between choices.
TeoThat's a very good point regarding tye overspray, and final convincing in getting an airbrush now.
The grex sounds like it is worth the extra price- small oversray, large tip, changing fan and piston which is more comfortable.
I contacted their support to ask what the compressor requirements are for the 0.7 tip, and it requires a more industrial one (they recommended California air 4620ac. (60 psi is not enough with 0.7 tip according to them).
Since it is double the price of the husky, and the spec is actually not as good (smaller container, less HP and CFM), I think I will get the husky which seems like the cheapest for now and will stay around if i switch to a spray gun at any point- does that make sense, based on the points you mentioned? (I want to make sure this setup addresses all those points)
That, combined with the airbrush and accessories for connection comes to around $450 which I can live with
-
4 hours ago, teonzo said:
The big question here is not what it's best for you now, but what your future plans/hopes are. Where do you think you will be in 2023, 2025, 2030? Are you keeping your chocolate making as a little home hobby, or do you plan/hope to turn it into your main job?
If you plan to go bigger over time, and hopefully make it your main job, then it has no sense to save money now to buy something that will be useless in less than 2 years, it would be wasted money. If this is the case, then you need to start making a multi-year plan and see what your hopes are.
If you want to keep where it is now (a weekly home hobby) AND you worry so much about spending $300 instead of $200 (worrying about money is always a good thing), then just buy the cheapest alternative out there. Whatever you buy in that money range will leave you unsatisfied, you will always want something better/quicker/bigger. You just need to consider that you are already spending a lot of patience doing chocolate, you will still need patience, just a little less than now. If you want something really effective then you need to raise you budget considerably.
TeoThanks Teo
I do have a full time job in software, so this isn't professional for now. However, because it isn't professional, I am also ok on spending more money to make things less arduous so I keep enjoying it (so am fine going up to in budget), I just am having a hard time figuring out what the best solution is for me, considering I don't have a lot of volume.
If I up my budget to the $400-$500 frame, it sounds like the grex + appropriate compressor would be the best solution for me, does that make sense?
-
16 minutes ago, Jim D. said:
I was looking through the Home Depot compressor offerings. My compressor is 2HP but only 4.6 gal. According to what Teonzo wrote earlier in the thread, it would be nice to have at least 2 or more HP, but it is the capacity that affects your work the most. HP seems to be what raises the cost. The Husky ones have lower HP, but more capacity. All of the ones I looked at offer sufficient PSI for both the Grex and an HVLP gun. As I said previously, my HVLP gun (the same type as the Grizzly you are looking at) struggled with a 4.6-gallon tank. Teonzo recommended 50 liters (13 gal.) minimum, 100 if possible. Home Depot has several Husky models with 20 gal. (76 liters); the least expensive I saw is $219. If you go with a smaller tank model (as you mentioned you are thinking about), it will probably be fine with the Grex, but if you move to an HVLP, you will need to invest in a second compressor (or drive yourself crazy waiting for compressed air). You mentioned having spent enough time thinking about this. I would say it is time well spent. The decision has to do with what direction you expect your work to go. I hope I don't sound like a know-it-all (I certainly am not); I am just thinking of all the expensive mistakes I made along the way. If you can swing the more expensive Grizzly, it will allow for several options. I will try to get @teonzo's attention and hope he can offer his advice on your options.
Now for the easier question: If you start with a new bottle of cocoa butter, you can microwave it in short bursts, shake the bottle, and it will probably end up in temper. I transfer cocoa butter to little glass containers and heat them (in my dehyrator) to well above 100F. Then I cool them in cold water (just to save time), and use a little cocoa butter silk from the EZtemper to bring them into temper. There are, of course, alternatives, such as using some fresh cocoa butter as seed, but nothing as quick as @Kerry Beal's silk. Do you have an EZtemper yet?
I don't :)
i do use mycryo to temper chocolate which is super fast, and for splatter pattern with a toothbrush i would just wait for the CB to cool down, then give it some good shakes in the jar and and that would do the trick, although I don't really know what the official temps are for just CB.
regarding the compressor- thanks again for your help, you sound nothing like a know it all and I do appreciate your advice!
it seems that to get a compressor that is strong enough for a spray gun, even a cheap one would probably be $300+ , not to mention a massive toy I dont have anywhere to store (working in home kitchen for now).
so with that, i will likely spend on the grex airbrush you recommended, buy the 0.7 nozzle (i see the default it comes with is 0.3), and now my last question is really what is the cheapest compressor that would work well with that airbrush (not necessarily a model, but what spec should I look for- capacity, HP and etc?). I dont mind the price if the husky I mentioned, but if i am not buying something that will work with a spray gun anyway, i would rather get something smaller and lighter than the husky.
-
7 minutes ago, Jim D. said:
There are different opinions on the subject of whether colored cocoa butter must be tempered. One theory (which is enticing because it makes everything much easier) is that the cocoa butter gets tempered as it flies from the gun. I have never seen anyone with any proof that occurs. Ever since I took an online course with Andrey Dubovik on decorating shells, I have tempered all cocoa butter. Melissa Coppel does so. Kirsten Tibballs does. I just don't want to take a chance.
Ok, good to know that
How do you temper cocoa butter? In the bottle?
47 minutes ago, lironp said:
So I have been spending way too much time going back and forth on this.
I think where I am now, is buying a compressor that will be strong enough for a spray gun and the grex, so I can get the HVLP and the grex at some point.
From what I have read, I need at least 2 HP for the grizzly, is that correct? I went to homedepot and they didn't have any compressor with that much HP, they did have a Husky 1.8 hp, 8 gallon capacity and 3.7-4.8 SCFM for ~$150, do you think that will work for the grizzly? (Are there any minimum values for capacity and SCFM that are needed for a spray gun?)Thinking about this some more-
The grex is $200. If I decide to buy that it seems like it can do with a much cheaper/smaller compressor, and no need to spend $300 on a large compressor.
For the grizzly, do you think the husky I described above could work? Or too little HP (also the grizzly spec says 6 CFM, does that mean the CFM here isnt enough?) -
18 minutes ago, lironp said:
So I have been spending way too much time going back and forth on this.
I think where I am now, is buying a compressor that will be strong enough for a spray gun and the grex, so I can get the HVLP and the grex at some point.
From what I have read, I need at least 2 HP for the grizzly, is that correct? I went to homedepot and they didn't have any compressor with that much HP, they did have a Husky 1.8 hp, 8 gallon capacity and 3.7-4.8 SCFM for ~$150, do you think that will work for the grizzly? (Are there any minimum values for capacity and SCFM that are needed for a spray gun?)And actually one more question- it seems that because the grex is an internal mix, you need to temper the CB before using it, vs external mix airbrushes where you just need it at the right temp?
-
On 8/10/2020 at 10:12 PM, Jim D. said:
No, this is the Grex I have (the Tritium model with the .7mm nozzle). The Bakedeco setup is not robust enough (the compressor is 1/8 HP, much too little power, the nozzle is only .35mm, and the cup is very small--Grex makes a 50ml size). The compressor is approximately what I got in the beginning, and I had to replace it as I began doing more molds. I mean, it will work with the .35mm needle that comes with it, but you will be frustrated waiting for enough compressed air to spray adequately and I don't think .35 will be satisfactory at all. HVLP guns have different sizing, and nozzle sizes are larger than those for airbrushes. If you need to keep the expense low, I would probably go with the Grizzly spray gun (which is only $43) and a larger compressor. If you hate the Grizzly, you will be out a relatively small amount and will have a compressor that will work for whatever you decide to use. The dehydrator I use is $190 and works well for heating cocoa butter, a spray gun, and chocolate in preparation for tempering.
So I have been spending way too much time going back and forth on this.
I think where I am now, is buying a compressor that will be strong enough for a spray gun and the grex, so I can get the HVLP and the grex at some point.
From what I have read, I need at least 2 HP for the grizzly, is that correct? I went to homedepot and they didn't have any compressor with that much HP, they did have a Husky 1.8 hp, 8 gallon capacity and 3.7-4.8 SCFM for ~$150, do you think that will work for the grizzly? (Are there any minimum values for capacity and SCFM that are needed for a spray gun?) -
Saw this in a pavoni mold image- is this just gold leaf they stick in the mold one by one? or is there a smarter way to do this?
-
1 hour ago, Jim D. said:
@lironp, a few thoughts on your decision: I have used 4 different airbrushes, and by far the best has been the Grex. I find the gun-like trigger action easier and more comfortable to use than the more prevalent ones with the trigger on top of the gun. The Grex is more expensive than many other airbrushes, especially if you upgrade to the .7mm nozzle, which works better for cocoa butter, and it requires more compressed air and so a stronger compressor. If you keep it warm (which I consider a "must"), it sprays beautifully. I bought a dehydrator to keep it warm, and the model I purchased is great. The Grex has a larger size cup, and that is a crucial consideration; stopping to fill up the cup as you spray is a major nuisance.
HVLP spray guns are, of course, similar but are different in many ways. I bought a very inexpensive one from Harbor Freight tools. It sprays more rapidly than an airbrush but uses more cocoa butter. Mine does not do splattering, but some of them do. Here is a link to a Grizzly model recommended by @Bentley, and he stated that it does splatter very successfully. Of course, an alternative for splattering is to use toothbrush, recommended by some famous people in the field (such as Andrey Dubovik). I also have a Fuji spray system, another version of an HVLP gun. It works very fast but uses a huge amount of cocoa butter. From what you wrote, it is beyond the price range you are looking at.
As people have posted in this thread (see especially the comments by @teonzo), the compressor is a crucial choice. It's not just the HP but the amount of storage of air that counts. My Grex works fine with my 2HP, 2-tank California Air Tools compressor, but the El Cheapo HVLP gun kept the compressor running almost constantly to provide enough air at high enough a pressure. If you go with an HVLP gun (such as the Grizzly), I would recommend a compressor larger than what I purchased.
So if you will be doing 10-20 molds, an argument could be made for either choice. An HVLP gun will use more cocoa butter and will get them done faster than an airbrush, and if you want to do splattering with whatever you choose, the Grex does not do splatter, and only certain HVLP guns do. No matter what choice you make, I would strongly recommend getting something to keep the cocoa butter and gun warm. My dehydrator has changed my life (as far as decorating molds, goes!). And, sorry to say, you might be able to stay within your desired budget, but it will be difficult, and (in my opinion) allowing for expansion (making more chocolates in the future) will save you in the long run. I predict that as you get into more elaborate decorating of molds, you will be hooked, like so many of us on eGullet.
Just now, lironp said:Thanks for your super detailed response, highly appreciated @Jim D. & @Sweet Impact Mama!
I have been splattering with a toothbrush until now, but I think I was being greedy wanting to do that automatically
In the video I linked to above, Thayer recommends 1.7-2.2 nozzle for a spray gun to get a really smooth finish, but I don't see anything in that realm- is that applicable to the very expensive models?
Is there really any advantage to using a cheap spray gun over the grex or even the Paasche H single action? It sounds like that will force me to buy a more expensive compressor and with the volume I predict for the next few months wont save me too much time.
Is this the grex model you are referring to?
-
Thanks for your super detailed response, highly appreciated @Jim D. & @Sweet Impact Mama!
I have been splattering with a toothbrush until now, but I think I was being greedy wanting to do that automatically
In the video I linked to above, Thayer recommends 1.7-2.2 nozzle for a spray gun to get a really smooth finish, but I don't see anything in that realm- is that applicable to the very expensive models?
Is there really any advantage to using a cheap spray gun over the grex or even the Paasche H single action? It sounds like that will force me to buy a more expensive compressor and with the volume I predict for the next few months wont save me too much time.
Is this the grex model you are referring to?
-
Hello everyone!
After taking a break from chocolate making for a few years, I am back and doing some small production right now.Most of what I do is dipped, and for molds i either brush with luster dust or splatter colored cocoa butter with a brush.
I would like to buy an airbrush/spray gun and after reading through this thread and watching this very informative video I still feel lost.
Requirements:
Volume: In the next few months, I will want to spray around 10-20 molds per week (ideally all on the same day, with multiple colors- my favorite is chef rubber's jewel collection). This isn't a large amount, but I do also have a day job, so wouldn't want to spend more than 2 hours at most on this amount of molds.
Decoration: I would like to also use it for splatter and not just spray (unless that drastically increases the price).
Ideally, I would want to spend up to $200 on a gun/brush + compressor, unless that is completely unrealistic for my needs (and then will rethink cost vs requirements).
So now I am trying to figure out whether I need a brush or a gun, and based on that what should I buy.I understand a spray gun is much faster and more comfortable to use than an airbrush. While there are quite a few spray guns that are around $50-60 (I have no idea if they are suitable for cocoa butter), because they require a larger compressor that may be out of my budget?
The airbrushes themselves seem to be better for more detailed work (such as spraying through a piping tip, which I am not going to do anytime soon
), how long would it take to spray an entire mold with one? It also seems like the canisters are very small, so not sure how many pauses would be required to refill them?
Would appreciate any guidance on what would better suit my needs, and based on that any specific product recommendations, TIA!
-
If anyone is willing, I'd be happy to see a demo for the recipe for the reverse engineered Jaques Genin caramels
They were the best caramels I have ever tasted, and I certainly haven't managed to get such a texture on my own..
-
It hardens quickly, but the end result isn't as firm as a ganache- when I cut through it with the guitar without cooling it, the corners got squished
How do they do that? (the bonbon thread)
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
ahh.. that makes sense. and wow, so time consuming!
Also metallic- is the jewel line by chefrubber considered metallic? I use it and definitely do not get those colors...