12 hours ago, Jim D. said:
The eye technique requires spraying air (no cocoa butter), and I didn't think I could clean out my Grex thoroughly (or couldn't spare the time to do so).
If you look through the eGullet thread on the subject, you will find a post from teonzo that thoroughly explains that HP is not nearly as important as capacity. As I wrote previously, when I was using the spray gun, my compressor was running almost constantly to keep up with the air requirement. And experts seem to agree that a compressor that runs that much won't last long (and there is the noise factor as well). When I need a new compressor, I will buy one with bigger capacity.
A 0.7mm nozzle (with a gravity-feed airbrush) seems to work best for most people spraying cocoa butter (note that the sizing is different for spray guns). A 0.5mm will also work but will be more tedious to use (and with the constant crystallizing of cocoa butter, speed is important). I have never sprayed chocolate, but I think that would take a larger size.
I believe you will find some of the most up-to-date information on spraying and equipment in the thread to which I referred in an earlier post. I know it's a lot to read, but the info is there, including detailed information on the Grex if you decide to go with that. You mention that at this point you are not spraying more than a few molds. At the risk of sounding wiser about these matters than I really am, it would be very unusual for a "wannabe" chocolatier to stop after doing a few molds and not be "hooked" on doing it. If/when that happens, you will be happy that you bought decent equipment to start (I speak from expensive upgrading experience).
Thanks again for the great info! Also, somehow I missed that link to the other topic the first time.
I'll probably save up a bit and opt for the higher quality equipment, then. Might end up being a good thing anyway, since I should probably focus more on delicious fillings than pretty colors to begin with.
