I am very disapointed w/the melvina method for icing smooth cakes. I tried it today & the icing keep coming off even when I placed my cake in the fridge for about an hr I think that was too much. So my cake ended up looking sloopy since I tried to fix the mess afterwards. I use bc topping to ice cakes, I don't know what happened? 
Okay, this freaks me out! 
I haven't tried it yet but I just bought the stuff to get it done. Did you use a crusting buttercream? I have heard this is the most important thing with the Melvira Method.
A few questions.
1. Was the cake frozen when you frosted it....that can cause the lifting (found out the had way)
2. Is your icing a crusting icing.... it has to crust at least some or it wont work.....
3. the frig made it harder for me because it added moisture and it wouldn't crust enough..
Did that help at all?
You have to use a crusting icing. The first time I tried it, it didn't work either. But that was because I wasn't using a crusting buttercream. Trust me it works. I love it.
I think my icing is not the crust buttercream. My icing is bc topping and it smoothes ok around cakes but not perfectly like I see other cakes. Also my cake was not frozen. Can somebody give me the recipe for that crust buttercream? Does it tastes good, I don't like it to be too sweet for ex: can frosting that sucks.
I use the melvira method and it works every time. I love it. My children think it is so funny that I use a paint roller on a cake. But hey, whatever works, Right? The only thing I can imagine that would cause it to not work is if you didn't use a crusting buttercream or if the weather where you are made your icing too sticky. That happened to me last week. It was really humid and my icing just would not cooperate.
The only thing I can think of is that the refrigerator would make the BC condensate when you pull the cake out. That would make the BC sticky to the touch. So of course the melvira method wouldn't work.
You have to let your BC dry and crust in order to be able to smooth it. I live in a dry region and so my "crisco" BC will dry and crust in about 15 minutes. If you still have trouble with it crusting, then you can always add some meringue powder to help it crust a bit sooner.
Here's the link to the article http://www.cakecentral.com/article83-Quick--Easy-Smooth-Icing-Using-a-Roller-Melvira-Method.html It works like a charm with crusting BC
click on the articles link at the top and scroll down. You should see the melvira method article there. It is great!
the bc dream recipe works beautifully with the melvira method
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2033-Chocolate-Syrup-Frosting.html
jescapades~~ You linked me to a chocolate syrup I am looking for that "crust buttercream" recipe.
you're right, i did... sorry:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2123-Buttercream-Dream.html
that chocolate syrup recipe is really good, too, though! 
I was linked to the above buttercream is this what everyone talking about the crust buttercream?
Yes, that's the one I use and it works for me every time. It's awesome!!
I wonder if there is a way that the frostings can be identified as crusting/non crusting as a part of the menu choices (where it tells prep time and such)?
Can you use this successfully on a 1/2 butter, 1/2 crisco recipe? My icing is crusted, but it won't smooth with the roller! I'm glad I only paid $4 for this sucker since it'll probably never be sued again! The icing is not tacky at all, and has crusted nicely, but the roller pick up bits of icing, not totally off the cake, but it sticks to the roller, then makes the rest a mess.
OMG....jen1977, I had the same problem and I did everything that was required. I was so upset because I went and got everything (crusting bc and high density rollers) and all but to no avail, it was a mess! I want smooth cakes so bad but i'm kind of not wanting to try it again. I wish I can find out what happened in my case as well.
to get it to work, you have to BARELY touch the surface of the cake. I know I sometimes get tiny particles picked up, but that's because I think I've disturbed the crusted part and have now gotten to where it isn't crusted again. I let it sit a few minutes, come back to the "trouble" section and then it works.... the LIGHTEST of touch is all it takes.
melissa
I am new to cake decorating so I decided to try to Melvina method. I have struggled with getting my buttercream smooth so I was willing to try anything. It worked great for me. However, I used waxed paper and then rolled over that. I had the icing stick to the paper one time but I think that was because I didnt allow it to crust enough. I live in Houston so it will take a little longer for it to crust. Try using wax paper and that may help you. Give it another try with crusting buttercream and using wax paper. Good Luck
I use the melvira method after my cake has crusted. Works great. When that gets done a 1/2 hour or so later I get a piece of paper out and do it again and it gets it even more smooth. You have to make sure each time it is crusted or it will stick. The paper one will stick to even crusted icing. Make sure that one has super crust.
Add me to the list of I can't do its. I've tried several times and end up with sticky rollers and an ugly cake. I use Buttercream Dream (which I love), make sure it's crusted, have high density rollers, and I think the consistancy is right. But the only thing that is consistant for me is nothing works! It's always the same no matter what method-the icing sticks and sometimes the cake pulls up with the icing. Could the fridge be turned up too high and the icing is getting too hard? Could you elaborate on the right consistancy-how should it feel-or what the right crusting is, how that should feel to the touch? I hope that made sense, I'm going out of my mind tying to get smooth cakes. Thanks for any help.
I used the melvira method on a wedding cake and it turned out very smooth. I used the recipe that was provided in the tutorial. I had a couple of spots that the icing stuck but I also think that my icing was thinned a little too much. I kept putting the cake back in to the refrigerator for a couple of minutes and that seemed to do the trick. I think it really does depend on the texture of the icing and what the weather is like where you live.
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