I added a bit of crisco to my fondant in areas that were a bit dry. Now when I add dust, smear marks appear where the crisco were. Even if I gently coat the entire cake with a light layer of crisco, I get smear marks. Maybe I'm putting on too much crisco? Anyone else have this problem and know how to solve it? I'm very particular and don't like "just okay".

This happens to me if I try to dust right after using shortening on the cake. If I let it sit for 2-3 hours, the shortening seems to absorb (?) in the fondant and dusting is fine. How long did you let the cake sit before dusting, and did you wipe off any excess shortening with a paper towel?

I actually did the fondant yesterday. I did the small tier and got some smears so took a paper towel with just a bit of crisco and wiped over the larger tier to even out crisco. Then I wiped it off with a clean towel. It's not too noticable from afar but I see it and want to find a way to prevent this in the future.

sometimes if you dust with a little cornstarch just where it's streaking it's enough to sort of dry up any residual shortening......but too much and you'll have the dry issue again lol

Dust with cornstarch BEFORE you put on the dust?

How do I prevent this problem in the future?

I'd like to know too...

I haven't had that happen but the first thing I thought of when I read your problem was to steam the fondant covered cake before you dust it. I think tha would probably set any shortening. I'd make certain the fondant was dry (from the steam mist) before I dusted it.