Hello all,

I'm looking for some help or advice.

My wife is an avid cupcake/cake maker, she does a few sales locally. She has wanted an airbrush set for  ages, so I thought I would get her one as a Christmas present. I wasn't looking at spending more than £100, as if it becomes that she uses it alot we can upgrade later.

I have been doing some research and found the following options;

Could you let me know if you have used any of them, any that your recommend or would avoid?

Or maybe I have missed a better option elsewhere?

Any tips/info on what I should look for would be much appreciated.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/17173/Lakeland-Cake-Airbrush-Kit
LAKELAND, complete set £99.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DSNB690/?tag=cakecentral-20+kit+for+cakes
CASSIE BROWN, complete set £99.99 (have found on ebay for £80 now)

http://www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5005
Dinkydoodle No colours, £99.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009LL6NA0/?tag=cakecentral-20+kit+for+cakes

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GO8VGAA/?tag=cakecentral-20+kit+for+cakes

I will try and look back on here for replies, but could do with making a choice to buy before the weekend is over.

You can email me at [email protected] if you can help.

Thanks for any help in advance!

ACan't help... But haha, I read this post thinking it was my husband, and congratulating him on his foresight on coming on here for advice... And then I saw your email address... Guess I'm back to slippers then! ;) I'll look out for answers as I want one too

First off, you've got a lucky wife.

Second off, I commend you for doing your research.

The airbrush choice will depend GREATLY on what kind of airbrushing your wife wants to do.

Most of the units you link are at the bottom-end "beginner" range in both capabilities and quality. She will be able to do basic  accenting and shading and some stencil work, but she should not expect to be able to do big cakes or high-precision work. This class of equipment just isn't designed for larger projects or have the part quality for precision work - you basically hit it's max capability the second you turn on the air pump.

So long as everyone has realistic expectations, then starting with a "intro" end model isn't a problem.

The mulit-airbrush set does not appear to include a compressor. That will be an additional purchase. 

My basic rule of thumb is that you MUST be able to buy replacement parts. The airbrush fluid needle and nozzle are like the tires and timing belt on a car. They WILL eventually need replacements. If the parts can't be replaced, then a new airbrush will have to be bought. But, by that time she may be ready to move up to a more robust system.

Hope this helps!

I watched a demonstration of this airbrush unit this summer.  The gal who was doing said she's had very good luck with this unit.

http://www.uscakesupply.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=ABD+KIT-CAKE-G34-22

Edited to add the same item but from Amazon which may ship to the UK:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004KMXSQW/?tag=cakecentral-20

Thank you for all the replies and advice so far.

I would like to buy one from the UK, so there is less hassle if something goes wrong.

Looking at the links I posted originally, would anyone be able to say one is better than the others? Such as certain specifications, or technical points better or worse?

I need to order by tomorrow (Tuesday) so I don't worry that it will sell out, or not arrive in time for xmas.

Thanks again for the help - I will recommend this forum to my wife after she has opened her present.

AI have only tried one make of cheap (£50) airbrush and so my advice is quite limited but:

I find the food colours on ebay are the best value: on ebay-uk search for "edible airbrush" and the 226ml (9oz) bottles are the ones I tend to get, they are water based which makes cleaning the airbrush very easy but they take all night to dry- because of this I would like to try alcohol based colours which I would mix using pure isopropyl alcohol and sugarflair colours- both available again on ebay UK.

My airbrush has replaceable parts; this is essential as I find they get uncleanably stained with dark colours (maybe because its a low-end one?!)

Definitely get one with a compressor as the air cans are a nightmare, their pressure output is highly variable. Even a mini compressor for small projects will be great as a first buy, a better compressor might be wanted in the future so either think about an airbrush that'll take a stronger compressor or take into account the possibility of needing a whole set upgrade if she finds she needs something sturdier in the future :-)

Really hope that helps, you should totally get her a few plunger cutters for her stocking too :-)

Gray

ooh and get a pack of disposable dust masks too else she'll end up with food coloured nostrils! Scary sneezes after airbrushing deep red I tell ya!!

I jut got the dinkydoodle one from the Cake Decorating company and while I haven't been able to use it much yet, I have been very impressed by the service.  I won't lie, when I first got it, the needle was blocked but called the shop who after one or two questions, just put the owner of the Dinkydoodle Designs, who manufactur the brushes (Dawn) on the phone.  She seems to be in the shop most of the time and talked me through 2 troubleshoots and problem solved.  My only niggle so far is the paint 'bucket' isn't very big but seeing as this is my first venture into airbrush land, I think it should do the job... :-) Happy Christmas!