Well, here I go, finally jumping in to this forum after spending many hours sitting back and soaking up all the info I can. LOL Thank you for all the info you share, including the photos.
My question is about cake dummies.( the styrofoam kind! Are they reuseable and if so, what is the best way to clean them? Are there different qualities? If so, which are best? Could a person use regular styro that can be puchased in larger sheets and cut down to size?
I know from the site that you have to cover with buttercream first, then the fondant. Any advice or suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

It's really best to buy the dummies that are purposefully made as cake dummies. You will appreciate the clean edges. And you don't need bc under the fondant on the dummy. I just spritz with water and apply the fondant.

As for cleanup, I just wash with soap and water. Some people put them in the dishwasher, top rack.

Ditto!!!

Thank you for the quick answers. Is there a difference in qualities?
Is the foam a really dense foam?

The dummies you can order online & find in shops are made of pebble foam.

My personal preference, when I can find the size I like, is actually floral foam--white or green. I have cut my own dummies and the reason I like the floral foam is because you can use pieces of it to "sand" the edges. It's also easy to cut & doesn't come off in chunks, like the pebble foam often does.

For covering either type of dummy, I massage them w/ vegetable shortening (crisco) and cover. Easy to reposition the fondant and keeps it soft enough on the underside to make it soooooo easy to remove, even months later, without damaging the dummy surface.

If necessary, and it rarely is, I put them in the top rack of the dishwasher with no soap and on air dry.

Rae

I cover them with Press and Seal first then brush on a little corn syrup. This helps the fondant stick and the Press and Seal makes clean up easy!!

Thank you, Rae, I'm very familiar with floral foam. I think I will have better luck finding it locally rather having to order it. I also think I have enough info to start playing around with it. I'm doing a small wedding cake and they only want the topper to be real to save for 1st anniv. They really don't want/like cake all that much and are doing it only for pictures.(go figure) Thanks for your help.

Sue

I slather shortening on my dummies before covering them. It fills in any time holes or dings, and also makes removal of the fondant much easier when I want to re-use them (the fondand just cracks and peels right off). Then I just put a little more shortening on and more fondant - no need to clean/wash them.

I kinda like the idea of the Press and Seal. Does it lay tight enough that you don't have bumps and such?