Spraying Chocolate: Equipment, Materials, and Techniques

[Rajala]

I made a new batch of bonbons yesterday, much less around the edge, but it's still there. I guess it's close to impossible to get it totally clean?

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

25 minutes ago, Rajala said:

I made a new batch of bonbons yesterday, much less around the edge, but it's still there. I guess it's close to impossible to get it totally clean?

 

 

Can you show a picture of your empty shells? Do you turn your wet molds upside down or stand them on their sides?

[Rajala]

7 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Can you show a picture of your empty shells? Do you turn your wet molds upside down or stand them on their sides?

 

No picture of this, but I put them upside down for around 15 minuts before moving to fridge for around 15 minutes as well. Not upside down in the fridge though.

[keychris]

It's a very common issue with round moulds. You get even contraction in all directions, so there's space there for the chocolate to get in. You could fix it by trying to stop the chocolate contract as much, but then it wouldn't release from the mould

 

You already posted a pic from Melissa Copel - if someone like that still gets it, I don't think it's worth worrying about

[Rajala]

That one is probably made by one of her students? Melissa doesn't make mistakes like that.  

 

Well, on a serious note - I'm not that bothered by it. It's just interesting how it's some times extremely visible. In this case I'm moulding with a different chocolate than the last time, which to no surprise gives a little bit different result.

[Kerry Beal]

Try crystalline standing the mold up instead of face down - just curious if this might help.

[Rajala]

I can give that a go next time!

[Jim D.]

Before I waste a lot of colored cocoa butter experimenting, does anyone know what I can mix to get a dark/navy blue? I have on hand (all Chef Rubber named colors) turquoise, teal, Mediterranean blue, and black onyx. It's too late for me to order one of their darker blue colors. 

[Kerry Beal]

Maybe the Mediterranean mixed with a purple if you have one?

[Jim D.]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

Maybe the Mediterranean mixed with a purple if you have one?

Yes, I have a dark and a light purple. I will give the dark one a try. Thanks for the idea.

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D., which purples do you like?  I finally threw away my Harvest Purple because every time I tried to use it I hated it.

 

[Jim D.]

26 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

@Jim D., which purples do you like?  I finally threw away my Harvest Purple because every time I tried to use it I hated it.

 

I very much liked the Harvest Purple in theory (the idea of a Victorian "dusty" purple color appealed to me), but I gave up on it because, once applied, it looked too much like milk chocolate. And what's the point of that? So the only purple I use is Purple Rhodolite (from the "Jewel" collection). It shows as purple (well, somewhat) even when applied to dark chocolate, and I use it for my plum and my fig fillings, as well as on Easter eggs--where I mostly abandon the idea of matching the color to what's inside.

[Rajala]

Not the same mould, but I had this standing up rather than being turned upside down. Same result. In this case, I know that I poured over too much chocolate for the capping. Need to experiment with that more I think.

 

[Jim D.]

3 minutes ago, Rajala said:

Not the same mould, but I had this standing up rather than being turned upside down. Same result. In this case, I know that I poured over too much chocolate for the capping. Need to experiment with that more I think.

 

How did you get the nice even splatter on those molds?

[Rajala]

8 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

How did you get the nice even splatter on those molds?

 

I just sprayed them with very low pressure. Didn't do anything special, just played around. It's yellow, blue and purple - if it's unclear that there are three colors. I was aiming for less yellow, and the two you can see which are more yellow than the rest, was an accident when I sprayed a little bit too much. They're almost turning a bit green.

[Jim D.]

5 hours ago, Rajala said:

 

I just sprayed them with very low pressure. Didn't do anything special, just played around. It's yellow, blue and purple - if it's unclear that there are three colors. I was aiming for less yellow, and the two you can see which are more yellow than the rest, was an accident when I sprayed a little bit too much. They're almost turning a bit green.

I just read through this entire thread. You said you got an HVLP paint gun and also mentioned at one point that you had ordered an airbrush, but never said what brand it was. I bring this up because I am wondering whether you used the HVLP gun or the airbrush for the splatter. I have seen the Fuji in action, and it does splatter quite well. But most (if not all) paint guns have a rather large container for the paint. The ones I have seen would take a great deal of cocoa butter just to have enough to cover the bottom of the container. That is what kept me from buying one. So if you used the paint gun for the splatter, could you describe what amount of c.b. you used for the job? If you used an airbrush, I would love to know how you made it splatter. I am finding with my new Grex gravity-feed airbrush, I am using much more c.b. than I did with the siphon-style Paasche airbrush I used formerly. I can't quite imagine using a paint gun for just a few molds, considering how much c.b. it requires and how difficult it must be to clean out the container.

[keychris]

my HVLP gun does spatter very nicely, you just turn a dial all the way to the opposite end from fine spray and voila, spatter!

 

PS @RajalaMats you're obsessed with that tiny bit of chocolate down the edge that no-one else will notice

[Rajala]

@Jim D. The bars are sprayed with my HVLP gun. I just turn the dial, as Chris mention, to make sure that even though the gun is fed 30 psi (or whatever), it's nowhere near that amount that goes through it. I would say that I used maybe 1 cl per colour, and that was enough for two moulds, leaving a little bit left in the paint container. My airbrush is leaking air, so I haven't even used that one yet, need to fix that.

 

Both the HVLP and the airbrush are generic store brands, which I would say are cheap Chinese manufactured products. I have nothing bad to say about the HVLP gun though. I haven't tried anything that's supposed to be "good".  

 

@keychris Haha, but I want it to be perfect. My brain works like that, I wish that it didn't.

[Jim D.]

4 hours ago, Rajala said:

The bars are sprayed with my HVLP gun. I just turn the dial, as Chris mention, to make sure that even though the gun is fed 30 psi (or whatever), it's nowhere near that amount that goes through it. I would say that I used maybe 1 cl per colour, and that was enough for two moulds, leaving a little bit left in the paint container. My airbrush is leaking air, so I haven't even used that one yet, need to fix that.

Thanks for that information. I don't see any reason why my Grex airbrush (or any airbrush, for that matter) can't do the same. I have a pressure regulator installed between the hose from the compressor and the airbrush itself, so changing the pressure is easy. I will have to try again. I tried the spraying with a wooden stick or spatula between the brush and the mold to create splatter, but it is erratic (I have seen it done successfully in person, so I know it's just a matter of technique). I think the drop-cocoa-butter-from-the-bottle-and-spray-it-into-the-mold technique would be something that would take (for me) a lot of practice. Sad to confess, but the best I have done so far has been with a toothbrush.

[Rajala]

25 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

Thanks for that information. I don't see any reason why my Grex airbrush (or any airbrush, for that matter) can't do the same. I have a pressure regulator installed between the hose from the compressor and the airbrush itself, so changing the pressure is easy. I will have to try again. I tried the spraying with a wooden stick or spatula between the brush and the mold to create splatter, but it is erratic (I have seen it done successfully in person, so I know it's just a matter of technique). I think the drop-cocoa-butter-from-the-bottle-and-spray-it-into-the-mold technique would be something that would take (for me) a lot of practice. Sad to confess, but the best I have done so far has been with a toothbrush.

 

The HVLP gun used a 0.8mm nozzle. Might be good to add that as well.

[Jim D.]

1 minute ago, Rajala said:

 

The HVLP gun used a 0.8mm nozzle. Might be good to add that as well.

I already have a 0.7mm nozzle on the Grex (the largest they make).

[julie99nl]

I have an airbrush and a HVLP, the airbrush doesn't splatter really. Low pressure or not..

Maybe it's because it is actually a needle in there?

[Tri2Cook]

16 hours ago, keychris said:

PS @RajalaMats you're obsessed with that tiny bit of chocolate down the edge that no-one else will notice
 

But those are exactly the things that drive you crazy. The easily seen problems everybody would instantly notice are generally easily fixed. 

[Jim D.]

5 hours ago, julie99nl said:

I have an airbrush and a HVLP, the airbrush doesn't splatter really. Low pressure or not..

Maybe it's because it is actually a needle in there?

Good point. So the HVLP does not have a needle? I'll see if I can find one that has a paint container with a small capacity--perhaps a wild goose chase?

[Jim D.]

@Rajala, and @julie99nl:  Do you have a link to a photo of the type of HVLP gun you have? I began a look on the Wagner site but was overwhelmed by the selection. They mostly appear to be the siphon type.