I am new to decorating cakes and have seen many shows on tv where they use a cake "wash" on their cakes to make sure they stay moist. I have tried to do a search on the internet and the only thing that I have foundis that it is 1 Sugar:1 water and then your flavoring. Do you all do this? I see that it is brushed onto the cake before it is crumb coated. Will this make sure that the cake stays moist? Does it alter the flavor of the cake? Thanks for any help!

Some use different flavors of liquors that compliment the cake. You can also use a water and preserves mix. You heat the water and preserves, strain, allow to cool completely and then "paint" that onto your cake.