Sealing Luster Dust on Cookie

Hi, Deco Desserts, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

Hi, again, I'm not sure what you mean by "sealing", or about the second part of your question ("Or can you seal?"), which seems like the same question as your first . . . but if you are asking if you need another agent or "edible glue" to stick luster dust on a dry royal icing cookie, the answer is no. If you dust it on with a dry brush, the dust will adhere in a very translucent (light) way, leaving a soft sheen. It can wipe off, though, if you run your fingers or something else over it rather forcefully. I hope I've answered your question, but if not, please try re-phrasing it. Thanks!

I meant since it does rub off is there a spray that might seal it.

Oh, thanks for the clarification. I'm not the best one to answer this question, as I've tried a few edible lacquers (not with dusts on the cookies though) in the past and was not pleased with the results. They left some visible spotting on the cookies, and smelled and tasted horrible. But I am interested to hear if anyone else has had a different experience.

I've never tried sealing lustre dust in any way, but sometimes I'll 'buff' it with a soft fat brush, so that the excess comes off, and then it's much less likely to leave 'dust prints' on anything that touches it (eg fingers, or cellophane bags). Sometimes I'll put thicker layer of dust on and rub them in with the brush to get a stronger colour, before buffing off the rest. I find all lustre dusts different (even within the same ranges), and some colours will 'polish' up nicely, whereas others just want to rub straight off altogether.

I've mixed pearl dust with vodka and sprayed it over the surface of cookies with a fine tip airbrush. the results were excellent; a brilliant sparkle that did NOT rub off.

I do not have the best camera, but you can kinda' see the results in this photo, especially on the snowflakes...

http://cookieconnection.juliau...ery-bulbs-and-flakes

virago posted:

I've mixed pearl dust with vodka and sprayed it over the surface of cookies with a fine tip airbrush. the results were excellent; a brilliant sparkle that did NOT rub off.

I do not have the best camera, but you can kinda' see the results in this photo, especially on the snowflakes...

http://cookieconnection.juliau...ery-bulbs-and-flakes

Oh, yes, good point! Any number of luster sprays and pearl sheen airbrush colors work and don't rub off, provided they've dried long enough and you haven't overapplied them. (Sometimes when they get too thick, I see some rub or even shake off). Though sprays/airbrushing give a heavier look, in my opinion. I guess it all depends on the look you are trying to achieve with the sheen.

Julia M. Usher posted:

virago posted:

I've mixed pearl dust with vodka and sprayed it over the surface of cookies with a fine tip airbrush. the results were excellent; a brilliant sparkle that did NOT rub off.

I do not have the best camera, but you can kinda' see the results in this photo, especially on the snowflakes...

http://cookieconnection.juliau...ery-bulbs-and-flakes

Oh, yes, good point! Any number of luster sprays and pearl sheen airbrush colors work and don't rub off, provided they've dried long enough and you haven't overapplied them. (Sometimes when they get too thick, I see some rub or even shake off). Though sprays/airbrushing give a heavier look, in my opinion. I guess it all depends on the look you are trying to achieve with the sheen.

FYI and disclaimer...

I have not tried any pre-made/bottled sprays or mixes, so I can't speak on how they perform.

the vodka/pearl dust mix that I make myself is just barely thin enough to run through the airbrush tip. after spraying the royal icing covered cookies, the surface is dry to the touch within 1 minute.

I have not yet tried spraying a glaze covered cookie. 

the first time I tried my own vodka/pearl dust mix, I had doubts if it would work at all; the pearl dust flakes don't really dissolve in the vodka and they look to large to spray. but after realizing that it would indeed spray through the airbrush, I used broad strokes to apply the spray to the cookies. I completely neglected/ignored the over spray that I was generating, and after applying the sparkly stuff to a full batch of cookies, I realized only to late that half my kitchen was coated in a layer of sparkle! it looked as though the fairies and sprites had gone to war    

Lucy (Honeycat Cookies) posted:

I've never tried sealing lustre dust in any way, but sometimes I'll 'buff' it with a soft fat brush, so that the excess comes off, and then it's much less likely to leave 'dust prints' on anything that touches it (eg fingers, or cellophane bags). Sometimes I'll put thicker layer of dust on and rub them in with the brush to get a stronger colour, before buffing off the rest. I find all lustre dusts different (even within the same ranges), and some colours will 'polish' up nicely, whereas others just want to rub straight off altogether.

Hi Lucy.  Are there certain colors that rub off more than others, for instance, red vs lavender?  Also, is there a particular brand of luster dust that you prefer over another?  Thanks!

pip posted:

Lucy (Honeycat Cookies) posted:

I've never tried sealing lustre dust in any way, but sometimes I'll 'buff' it with a soft fat brush, so that the excess comes off, and then it's much less likely to leave 'dust prints' on anything that touches it (eg fingers, or cellophane bags). Sometimes I'll put thicker layer of dust on and rub them in with the brush to get a stronger colour, before buffing off the rest. I find all lustre dusts different (even within the same ranges), and some colours will 'polish' up nicely, whereas others just want to rub straight off altogether.

Hi Lucy.  Are there certain colors that rub off more than others, for instance, red vs lavender?  Also, is there a particular brand of luster dust that you prefer over another?  Thanks!

Hi Pip. Sadly nothing as simple! There are particular dusts of different brands that work better or worse but I haven't found consistency in the qualities of one particular brand or colour. For example Sugarflair lustre dusts are mostly easy to use and leave a good coating, but the bronze and Royal gold are particularly good, and the black is kind of rubbish (dusts on blotchy, difficult to get an even coat). (The bronze, while great dry, is actually more tricky when mixed into a paint with alcohol, as it will still smudge once dry).

the rainbow dusts are also mixed - I think on the whole the 'starlight' range are difficult to use dry, and have some specks of pigment that can leave streaks, but the edible silk range is as good as the Sugarflair (though I've not tried that many). 

I probably prefer Sugarflair, but that might well be just because I'm more familiar with it, and have more dusts.

Hi @Deco Desserts, after I  dry brush my luster dust I  hold it over  steam for a couple of seconds. It sets the color and gives a shine

I just used a bit of everclear and so far, so good... No spotting, blotchiness, splotching or pooling