How to Thin Pearl Sheen

Thin Pearl Sheen colors with vodka. Did you know you might have to do that? You might need thin pearl, gold or any sheen with a bit of vodka because it will cause your airbrush gun to clog if you don’t thin it. Have your ruined a cookie because your airbrush gun “spit” the sheen out instead of spraying it? Well, don’t get mad! Get Vodka! Yes you heard me. You can use Vodka or Everclear to thin pearl sheen colors so your cookies will have a nice even coat and the sheen won’t “spit” onto your cookies.Thin Pearl Sheen thebearfootbaker.com

I am a southern girl and I get my corn from a jar! The first jar is Vodka;)

Pearl Sheen Comparison I sprayed Pearl Sheen straight from the bottle and then the thinned Pearl Sheen onto a piece of black paper so you can see the difference The thin pearl sheen gives an even coat without the splotches.

The “spitting” occurs because the sheen is made with insoluble pigments. So now you are asking me what that means.

  1. insoluble-That cannot be dissolved.
  2. pigment-a dry insoluble substance, usually pulverized, which when suspended in a liquid vehicle becomes a paint, ink, etc.

Pearl Sheen So you see, the spitting effect is caused by the sheen and not your airbrush gun. I had this bottle sitting on its side for a few days. I turned it over and all the liquid fell to the bottom and all the pigments stayed in place. That is a lot of pigment in one bottle.

Dried Pearl SheenWhen Pearl Sheen dries, it looks like this blob. This is what dried on the lid of the bottle and there is NO WAY my airbrush gun will work properly if this is dried in the gun. When you use sheen, you have to clean your gun really well or a blog like this will stop up your gun! To learn how to clean your gun after each use click here. If you have used any sheen and your gun is giving you trouble, click here or call the manufacture on how to curdle it.

Don’t be afraid to use sheen! This information is to help you use it without problems. If you follow these simple steps, you will love your sheen and want to spray them on everything. I have even thought about spaying it onto my skin like Mariah Carey’s fake 24-Karat gold tan but then I realized, I am not Mariah Carey and I don’t want to look silly! Thank goodness I came to my senses!

How to Thin Pearl Sheen:

I contacted Edward at the Pegasus place and he suggested we thin pearl sheen with Everclear. I can’t get Everclear and I talked to my friend Heather about it. I met Heather at Cookie Con and loved her instantly! She is so super sweet and I wanted to hang out with her forever! When I got home from my trip, I found this cute picture of Heather’s hubby Brian!

Brian SrockHe is one of those adorable hubby’s that believes his wife when she says, “I need Everclear for my cookies!” Mine would probably check me into The Betty Ford Clinic if I showed up this stuff! LOL

Brian with Everclear for CookiesThey even made this cute Everclear picture for us. I told you Heather was sweet!! If you thin pearl sheen a little you can airbrush like a pro. But wait! Everclear is 190 proof! As a matter of fact, I found a site that said it is illegal to sell the 190-proof variety in some states. They said it is illegal in California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Bet you didn’t know that did ya?

Don’t stress if you can’t get Everclear because, I called AmeriColor and asked them what they recommended for thinning their Pearl and Gold Sheen’s and they said Vodka would be fine. So let’s get started thinning.

*UPDATE: I have received a few emails about the alcohol leaving a weird taste on the cookies. The alcohol evaporates off and doesn’t taint the cookie in any way.

How to Thin Pearl Sheen

  1. First, shake your bottle of Pearl Sheen very well.
  2. Then, add a little to a jar. With the dropper that came with the airbrush system, add a few drops of alcohol. (I am a big old chicken and don’t want to mix my entire bottle at once. I am afraid I will add too much alcohol and ruin it so I only mix a little at a time.)
  3. Then, swirl it in the jar until it looks smooth like in the last photo. Edward said don’t shake it. He promised me swirling was way better so, I swirled.

How to thin Pearl SheenDon’t throw away your old AmeriColor gel bottles. They are great for storing your thinned pearl sheen. Just be sure to label it so you don’t think it is green! (Yes, I did that once!)

If you have any questions about airbrushing, check out these posts:
Airbrush 101
How to Use and Airbrush Gun
How to Clean and Airbrush Gun

Happy Creating,

Lisa