Spraying Chocolate: Equipment, Materials, and Techniques

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, Casey H. said:

That was extremely helpful. The luster dust situation finally crystallized in my mind (pardon the pun) yesterday, and I realized my clogging is likely due to the alcohol evaporating so quickly in the airbrush, leaving dusty gunk inside. D'oh! How'd I not think of that earlier?

Sounds very much like I ought to get an HVLP. I have made the mistake of under-spec'ing my equipment one too many times (Paasche being the prime example). Time to strap on some ovaries and get that big compressor and gun.

Thanks for your input!

If I told you how many times I have said "How'd I not think of that earlier?" you wouldn't be able to count them.

 

I should clarify about the HVLP gun:  Much to my disappointment, the inexpensive one I bought did not do splatter successfully. It had a pressure regulator, but the splatter was unacceptable. Perhaps some of them do, but I would suggest research before you invest. There is only one HVLP gun I know of that states that it does splatter, and I doubt you are ready to invest in a Fuji system. Many people on this forum have Wagner spray guns, so you might check on that brand (I don't know where you are located). It's difficult to get accurate information from spray gun dealers because splattering paint is considered a defect in guns (there are tons of Youtube videos on how to avoid this "problem"). Unfortunately even if you get an HVLP gun for its speed and heat retention, you may still have to go back to your toothbrush for splattering--which, as you probably already know, can work very well (it's a matter of technique--I don't do very well at it, I must confess).

[Jim D.]

@Casey H.: I should have mentioned that Grex has HVLP guns. I don't know a lot about them, but Grex has some of the best customer service I have encountered. I emailed back and forth with them dozens of times before I bought my airbrush, and they went out of their way to help (even assembling a compressor and airbrush and photographing it with all the connections labeled for my specific setup--very useful for the mechanically challenged, including me). I do not know if their guns are successful at splattering, but after my many discussions with tech support, they will be familiar with this issue for chocolatiers. If you ever want to pursue this, I can PM you information on the person who helped me. It is also significant, I think, that Grex (like Fujispray) acknowledges that its products are used for food decoration; there are many videos showing their airbrush in action, mostly on cakes.

[Pastrypastmidnight]

7 hours ago, Jim D. said:

If I told you how many times I have said "How'd I not think of that earlier?" you wouldn't be able to count them.

 

I should clarify about the HVLP gun:  Much to my disappointment, the inexpensive one I bought did not do splatter successfully. It had a pressure regulator, but the splatter was unacceptable. Perhaps some of them do, but I would suggest research before you invest. There is only one HVLP gun I know of that states that it does splatter, and I doubt you are ready to invest in a Fuji system. Many people on this forum have Wagner spray guns, so you might check on that brand (I don't know where you are located). It's difficult to get accurate information from spray gun dealers because splattering paint is considered a defect in guns (there are tons of Youtube videos on how to avoid this "problem"). Unfortunately even if you get an HVLP gun for its speed and heat retention, you may still have to go back to your toothbrush for splattering--which, as you probably already know, can work very well (it's a matter of technique--I don't do very well at it, I must confess).

The SATAminijet does do splatter as well. 

[Jim D.]

19 hours ago, Pastrypastmidnight said:

The SATAminijet does do splatter as well. 

 

@Pastrypastmidnight, that's very useful information to have in this thread. Do you have the model number (there are a couple of Minijets)? Sata is expensive but has a great reputation. And have you actually used it for splattering?

[Pastrypastmidnight]

On 1/25/2019 at 3:57 PM, Jim D. said:

 

@Pastrypastmidnight, that's very useful information to have in this thread. Do you have the model number (there are a couple of Minijets)? Sata is expensive but has a great reputation. And have you actually used it for splattering?

Melissa Coppel uses a 3000, I think. It starts with a 3. But that’s an old discontinued model, I believe. I think there’s a 4000-something now that’s the current model. 

 

We did use it for splatter in a class I took last summer. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Pastrypastmidnight (log)

[Casey H.]

On 1/24/2019 at 2:57 PM, Jim D. said:

@Casey H.: I should have mentioned that Grex has HVLP guns. I don't know a lot about them, but Grex has some of the best customer service I have encountered. I emailed back and forth with them dozens of times before I bought my airbrush, and they went out of their way to help (even assembling a compressor and airbrush and photographing it with all the connections labeled for my specific setup--very useful for the mechanically challenged, including me). I do not know if their guns are successful at splattering, but after my many discussions with tech support, they will be familiar with this issue for chocolatiers. If you ever want to pursue this, I can PM you information on the person who helped me. It is also significant, I think, that Grex (like Fujispray) acknowledges that its products are used for food decoration; there are many videos showing their airbrush in action, mostly on cakes.

Jim, thanks for the follow-up and apologies for the late reply! I was in Valentine's Day hell   I bit the bullet and got a Grex LVLP X4000 and 2HP compressor. We'll be testing it out next week - just in time for Easter decor. So excited! I'll report back. I'm so grateful for this thread and this group!

[Jim D.]

35 minutes ago, Casey H. said:

Jim, thanks for the follow-up and apologies for the late reply! I was in Valentine's Day hell   I bit the bullet and got a Grex LVLP X4000 and 2HP compressor. We'll be testing it out next week - just in time for Easter decor. So excited! I'll report back. I'm so grateful for this thread and this group!

It would be great if you could post a review of the Grex HVLP after you have used it for a while.

[Sweet Impact Mama]

On 12/4/2018 at 5:48 PM, Pastrypastmidnight said:

My husband made me one with foam core, duct tape, a filter and a box fan that is collapsible .

Can you post a picture, so I can try to inspire my better half? 😄 I've been using my little Paasche H without a booth. Don't mind steaming the walls of the chocolate kitchen, to get them clean, but starting to worry about my lungs. 🙄

 

[teonzo]

8 hours ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

starting to worry about my lungs

 

Always wear a surgical mask and glasses when spraying.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Kerry Beal]

8 hours ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

Can you post a picture, so I can try to inspire my better half? 😄 I've been using my little Paasche H without a booth. Don't mind steaming the walls of the chocolate kitchen, to get them clean, but starting to worry about my lungs. 🙄

 

Yup - what @teonzo says. Inhaled fat is not good for the lungs!

[Jim D.]

9 hours ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

Can you post a picture, so I can try to inspire my better half? 😄 I've been using my little Paasche H without a booth. Don't mind steaming the walls of the chocolate kitchen, to get them clean, but starting to worry about my lungs. 🙄

 

Having used my homemade box for spraying with a cutout filled with a house heating system filter and a large industrial-type fan behind the filter (thanks to @tikidoc for the idea), I can offer some information. There is some cocoa butter on the fan, so I know the setup is working, at least to some degree, to draw the cocoa butter out of the box. There is, however, still quite a lot of "blowback" of cocoa butter (toward me) as it hits the walls of the box. For reasons I don't understand, some colors are worse than others (white is the worst). My conclusion about a box is that it helps some, but if you really want to get the cocoa butter out, a strong vacuum pump drawing the cocoa butter outside the room is the only serious solution. Obviously that gets quite expensive and isn't even possible in some situations. I have seen professional setups with this arrangement, and it works. It also provides ample space to work, important because it is awkward to spray inside the box since I have to lean forward to get the spray gun far enough inside. A larger box would probably help, but it is typical (for me at least) to get so involved in trying to get the mold covered that I forget about being careful about the cocoa butter spray.

 

I have found that wearing a respirator really works. I have a 3M brand with its own filters. It's quite inexpensive, and while it's very uncomfortable at first, I have gotten used to it now. When I wear it, I look like a creature from another planet, but that's OK if it works. I can no longer smell the cocoa butter or feel it in my throat as I did previously.

 

There are, by the way, lots of Youtube videos on building a spray booth, from simple boxes like mine to more professional-looking efforts, some with vacuums.

[Pastrypastmidnight]

9 hours ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

Can you post a picture, so I can try to inspire my better half? 😄 I've been using my little Paasche H without a booth. Don't mind steaming the walls of the chocolate kitchen, to get them clean, but starting to worry about my lungs. 🙄

 

 

It’s not perfect or 100% effective, but I’ve already had to change the filter and I notice when I forget to turn it on, so it’s doing something. 

[Sweet Impact Mama]

Super cool way to do it! Pretty kitchen. 'be a shame for something to happen to it. 😂 Sorry. Channeling my inner mobster. 

 

But for real, it's wonderfully practical. Thanks for the pics.

[Sweet Impact Mama]

1 hour ago, teonzo said:

 

Always wear a surgical mask and glasses when spraying.

 

 

 

Teo

 

I've bee trying to hold my breath, and sort of assumed that was enough. Until the last few months, I wasn't using my airbrush much. Now I have a wholesale customer that vastly prefers that look. When I started blowing my nose and it was a bit blue... 😏

[tikidoc]

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

Having used my homemade box for spraying with a cutout filled with a house heating system filter and a large industrial-type fan behind the filter (thanks to @tikidoc for the idea), I can offer some information. There is some cocoa butter on the fan, so I know the setup is working, at least to some degree, to draw the cocoa butter out of the box. There is, however, still quite a lot of "blowback" of cocoa butter (toward me) as it hits the walls of the box. For reasons I don't understand, some colors are worse than others (white is the worst). My conclusion about a box is that it helps some, but if you really want to get the cocoa butter out, a strong vacuum pump drawing the cocoa butter outside the room is the only serious solution. Obviously that gets quite expensive and isn't even possible in some situations. I have seen professional setups with this arrangement, and it works. It also provides ample space to work, important because it is awkward to spray inside the box since I have to lean forward to get the spray gun far enough inside. A larger box would probably help, but it is typical (for me at least) to get so involved in trying to get the mold covered that I forget about being careful about the cocoa butter spray.

 

I have found that wearing a respirator really works. I have a 3M brand with its own filters. It's quite inexpensive, and while it's very uncomfortable at first, I have gotten used to it now. When I wear it, I look like a creature from another planet, but that's OK if it works. I can no longer smell the cocoa butter or feel it in my throat as I did previously.

 

There are, by the way, lots of Youtube videos on building a spray booth, from simple boxes like mine to more professional-looking efforts, some with vacuums.

 

I'm looking into getting a couple respirators for Maddie and I (currently using face masks made for painting). Which filters do you use? There are so many, I'm not sure which is best.

[Kerry Beal]

 

11 minutes ago, tikidoc said:

 

I'm looking into getting a couple respirators for Maddie and I (currently using face masks made for painting). Which filters do you use? There are so many, I'm not sure which is best.

I kept the N95 masks after the SARS outbreak. 

[Jim D.]

38 minutes ago, tikidoc said:

 

I'm looking into getting a couple respirators for Maddie and I (currently using face masks made for painting). Which filters do you use? There are so many, I'm not sure which is best.

I got (from Uline, though there are many sources):

 

3M 6200 HALF-FACE RESPIRATOR

3M 2091 PARTICULATE FILTER P100

 

I spoke with a tech person at 3M, who said this filter is all that is needed for dealing with particulates (I specifically mentioned atomized cocoa butter). If you also want to remove fumes (as with spraying paint, varnish, etc.), you need an additional adapter and special cartridge, but I have had no issues with fumes. There are many different filters, but this one is bright pink. The respirator itself comes in several sizes to fit your face; it is very lightweight. Warning: it takes a while to get it adjusted the first few times and even longer until it feels reasonably comfortable to use, but now I hardly even notice it (too much).

[tikidoc]

Just now, Jim D. said:

I got (from Uline, though there are many sources):

 

3M 6200 HALF-FACE RESPIRATOR

3M 2091 PARTICULATE FILTER P100

 

I spoke with a tech person at 3M, who said this filter is all that is needed for dealing with particulates (I specifically mentioned atomized cocoa butter). If you also want to remove fumes (as with spraying paint, varnish, etc.), you need an additional adapter and special cartridge, but I have had no issues with fumes. There are many different filters, but this one is bright pink. The respirator itself comes in several sizes to fit your face; it is very lightweight. Warning: it takes a while to get it adjusted the first few times and even longer until it feels reasonably comfortable to use, but now I hardly even notice it (too much).

 

Thanks, Jim. I came up with the P100 as well, doing a little googling. A couple years ago, I had a respiratory illness that took about 3 months to go away.  I even broke a rib coughing. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure I had pertussis. It left me with some mild asthma, so I’m being a bit more cautious these days. Also, since Maddie is getting more interested in working with chocolate, I want her protected.

[cslas]

On 6/2/2017 at 2:00 PM, Daniel D said:

 

@pastryani I've got the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and it's a 0.35mm. Takes a long time to back each cavity with color, especially if you are doing more than 10 molds at one time (my finger gets tired!). I just ordered a 0.5mm needle/nozzle/nozzle cap last night after reading these comments.  I'll let you know if that speeds things up.

@Daniel D know this post is from a while ago, but I have the same Iwata Eclipse HP-CS with the .35 mm nozzle. I have been able to achieve the chocolate velvet effect using it, but it takes 4-5 rounds of spraying and re-freezing and that's just to cover a single 7" entremet. How did adding the .5 mm nozzle assembly work out for you? Did it make a noticeable difference? Have you ever attempted the velvet effect with it and if so, how'd it go?

[cslas]

Since I've jumped into the conversation, I may as well ask a couple of other questions. I'm really more into pastry than chocolate (though I've read nearly this entire thread and I am tempted by much of your work!). I'm also just an overly ambitious home cook more so than any sort of professional. As mentioned above, I've used my Iwata Eclipse HP-CS with a .35 mm nozzle to (very slowly) achieve the velvet effect on a couple of entremets and I once made Dominique Ansel's Marshmallow Apples. That's the extent of my food/cocoa butter airbrushing to date. I'm preparing to attempt Cedric Grolet's Lemons, which I was happily shopping for ingredients for, when I stopped to think about the last time I made an entremet and how darn long it took to color that thing. My smug "I already own an airbrush" quickly faded into "oh crap, I have to make a dozen lemons with that?" So... like many of you, I start digging... and digging... and digging. While I'm not sure I've gained much clarity from a week of digging, I did find this thread, which seems to have the most comprehensive information on airbrushing chocolate/cocoa butter I've found. 

 

I know that many of you are working towards production of some scale, which I'm not doing currently (unless you count 12 lemons as a lot - it is for me), but it sounds like many of you have also worked your way up from starter airbrushes to more commercial equipment, while sampling nearly everything in between. I was starting to think that a small capacity spray gun sounded like a good option, but when I reached out to a vendor to inquire about the Iwata LPH-80 Miniature Spray Gun which has a variety of nozzle size options, I was told that my Iwata Sprint Jet Compressor was not powerful enough for the gun. If I wanted to go with the LPH-80 gun, they suggested upgrading to a more powerful California Air Tools 1/2 HP 2 Gallon Compressor. The also suggested that if I stick with my current, and apparently quite wimpy compressor, that I might try the Iwata HI-LINE HP-TH Airbrush instead, which includes a .5 mm nozzle and some sort of a fan function, though I need to verify that my compressor could achieve that. So a couple of questions:

 

1. For anyone else who made the leap from a .35 mm nozzle to a .5 mm nozzle, did it feel like much of a difference? It doesn't sound like a big difference.
2. There's not a lot of conversation on the web about changing airbrush nozzle size, and where it is mentioned, people seem to act like it's sacrilege (except for with kits), but has anyone else ever tried increasing the size of a nozzle assembly, particularly on an Iwata? They're not super upfront about it, but I kind of got the impression from the Iwata website, that it might be possible if you stay within a particular family of airbrushes (Eclipses, for example). And obviously, it sounds like you'd need to change the needle, the nozzle, and the cap to do it.
3. I know there's been a lot of conversation about compressors here, and I keep thinking things like "where would I put another compressor" and "I like that my compressor only weighs 8 pounds", but I guess I'm wondering how much of a difference does the compressor really make? Obviously, if a gun won't work with a particular compressor, then you're not going anywhere, but from your experience/what you know about airbrushes and compressors, do you think I would be missing out if I opted for the HI-LINE airbrush to avoid having to buy another compressor too? Would something like the CAT 1/2 HP 2G compressor make that much of a difference in my work vs. what my Iwata Sprint Jet is already doing?  (Including a picture of an entremet so you can see what I've coaxed out of it).
4. If I ever did decide to dabble in the world of chocolate, how critical is the strength of the compressor in achieving shiny, good looking chocolates? I know that the strength of the compressor would impact the speed of the work, but would a weaker compressor like my Sprint Jet actually prevent me from achieving something that looks good?
5. Lastly, has anyone figured out how to match airbrush/spray gun specs to compressor specs? The more I learn about them, the more I wonder how I managed to buy my compressor and my first two Eclipse guns and have them actually work together (I also have a side feed, I use for non-food spraying). I really have no idea what specs I need to match up to make sure I'm getting a system that works, so any advice would be a start.

Any information anyone can provide would be much appreciated. I'm going in circles here trying to decide what to do.

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by cslas (log)

[pastrygirl]

On 4/17/2019 at 9:00 PM, cslas said:

For anyone else who made the leap from a .35 mm nozzle to a .5 mm nozzle, did it feel like much of a difference? It doesn't sound like a big difference.

 

It doesn't sound like a big difference, but the size of the hole is double - calculate the area of a circle (Pi times R²) and its 0.096 mm² vs 0.196mm²

 

I switched from a 3 to a 5 on my Grex and was glad I did. 

 

On 4/17/2019 at 9:00 PM, cslas said:

If I ever did decide to dabble in the world of chocolate, how critical is the strength of the compressor in achieving shiny, good looking chocolates? I know that the strength of the compressor would impact the speed of the work, but would a weaker compressor like my Sprint Jet actually prevent me from achieving something that looks good? 

 

Not critical.  If your molds are clean and your CB is at appropriate temp I don't think it matters how strong your compressor is, as long as it’s matched to the volume you want to spray. My compressor is 1/5 hp, works for small batches with the 0.5 nozzle but i could stand an upgrade overall. 

Edited April 20, 2019 by pastrygirl (log)

[cslas]

Thanks @pastrygirl. This is really helpful.  I think I'm going to give the .5 nozzle a go and see what happens.

[Jim D.]

On 4/18/2019 at 12:00 AM, cslas said:

I really have no idea what specs I need to match up to make sure I'm getting a system that works, so any advice would be a start.

There are many questions in your post, but at this point I will comment on this one. As long as you are using an airbrush up to about .5mm, a small compressor from one of the Iwata Jet series will work. Brushes like the .7mm Grex require something larger. When I bought the Grex, tech support recommended a 1HP compressor. At the time they had a special, and I got the 2HP for the same price, and I have not regretted that. The larger the nozzle, the more compressed air you need. In my setup, the compressor runs a while, then shuts off, which (I think) is a sign that it is producing enough air. I never have to wait for the tank to fill up.

 

When I bought an inexpensive HVLP spray gun, however, all that changed--2 HP was not enough. The compressor ran constantly, which (as I understand it) is not good for a compressor.

 

If I were doing it over (those famous words we all utter at some point), I would have "gone big" in the beginning rather than keep upgrading in little steps. Too large a compressor is not a problem. When you are spraying a dessert and have to stop to heat up the airbrush so frequently that you get frustrated, then you will know it's time to upgrade your spray gun. If you follow the path many of us on eGullet have followed, you will get hooked at some point on making something, whether it's entremets or chocolates, and then you will start looking for upgrades of both sprayer and air source. There is a lot of information in this thread on that subject.

[Louise nadine brill]

Help! Egullet has been my sole source of education in bonbon decorating (the “how did they do That?” Thread, in particular). I have read, and re- read many, many threads for every question i have and have progressed beyond what inthiught i was capable of - however - airbrushing, argh. I used the Badger 250 and never seemed to get the nice smooth finish - so i rolled with it and started aiming for texture, and that produced some pretty cool results. I figured i would buy the highly recommended Paasche H and and all of my aspirations for smoothness would be met. Not so. After having a devil of a time finding adapters that actually worked for my Paasche to Master Airbrush compressor (tip - don’t use Amazon/Master Airbrush - just spend a few extra dollars and order directly from Paasche) I was finally ready to go! Today i set up my spray booth, chose my colours and molds, warmed my cb and.....nothing. Nothing is coming out of the airbrush. My compressor is at 60psi (and gave me all the oomph i needed with the Badger, and with the Master airbrush that came with it (it’s just a terrible airbrush), no leaks anywhere...but the cb is only being pulled maybe a quarter of the way up the siphon tube. 😢 It has the medium needle attached which i believe is the 3 (- i noted in the thread that other members have used this size without issue). I tried to find tutorials on switching out the needle, but thought i’d just go with this for my first run bc frankly, i didn't find anything that made me confident enough to try and switch it without fear of breaking the darn thing.  I have had so much fun exploring cocoa butter decorating techniques, but I really want to get his airbrushing under my belt to continue my happy journey. Any advice would be most welcome. 

[Jim D.]

I looked back through the thread, and the size 5 needle appears to be recommended most (by Kerry Beal, for instance). I hate to say this because I too was using the Paasche siphon-feed at one point, but I think most people have moved to gravity-feed airbrushes. There are just fewer paths for the cocoa butter to follow, and you are not having to get the cocoa butter (which is always in the process of crystallizing--and clogging up the passageways) to work against gravity. I finally got tired of having to reheat the spray cup and feed tube. But if you get the 5 needle, you should be able to make this airbrush work.