Hello!
I have been covering my cakes with MMF for a few years now and each time I make a cake I try a new way to get the fondant smooth and even. It seems that everytime even though I level my cakes that the sides are not smooth and I cannot get them to look even and at times they get a rippled looking effect from the different layers of cake and icing underneath. The next cake I am making will have a painted peacock design on the side and I want a nice smooth even canvas. Any tips to help my fondant look smoother and more even would be welcome!!
Thanks!

have you tried a heavier crumb coat (using more bc ) are you waiting to long and letting it to crust to much ? frosting has to be very smooth when icing under fonadnt or well show all imperfections sometimes i hope this helps .

In the "articles" section on CC, there is a great article on how to get rid of cake bulges. I have dealt with this problem on a few of my larger cakes...so, I too, have been finding out as much as I can to avoid this problem. It is under the "cake fixes" category. Hope this helps!!

How thick is your crumb of of buttercream under your fondant? Is it too thin? Also are you using a smoothing tool to smooth out the fondant?

Are you trimming your edges? Through a constant learning process I am now finding that after I have torted and gently pressed my layers down and then let sit to settle for at least 30 minutes at room temperature I will put my round cake on a rotating stand, take my sharpest and longest knife and placing the tip of the blade on the stand vertically against the cake (like a straight edge) and I trim around the cake. Then I crumb coat and use my straight edge to smooth!

So long as your base coat (either buttercream or ganache) is smooth, your fondant will be too. The fondant highlights imperfections rather than covers them up. If you use buttercream you have to let the cakes settle so you don't get a bulge. Leah_s has a method which involves putting a tile on top of the cakes so that if any filling does bulge out it happens before you crumbcoat. If you use ganache you don't have to do that as the ganache sets hard enough to keep the filling inside. If you haven't tried ganache, I would give it a whirl, I can't sing it's praises enough.

This is a cake where I used buttercream underneath the fondant and didn't let it settle.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1720338

And this is using ganache without letting it settle

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2004919

Thank you all for the tips:
Lisa,do you just use ganache in between the layers? Or on the outside as well. A lot of times I am using mousse or fruit in the very middle then butter cream on the other layers (I usually torte my cakes) Then buttercream on the outside. I do put a ring of buttercream on the outside edge of each layer to hold in whatever I am using to fill the cake. I will try letting the cake settle and see what works best...I may also need a thicker/smoother crumb coat...We'll see how this painted cake goes!

I use IMBC or ganache between my layers, then ganache on the outside. I looked at your fondant 2 tier beach cake and I would suggest that you need a firmer coating of buttercream (or use ganache). You either need to use a crusting buttercream which you can let firm up or use a meringue based buttercream which you can chill until solid. I never had any luck with buttercream so I tried ganache, the finish is so much better for me that I won't go back.

Agreed...ganache all the way.

Even when making sculpted cakes...I found it so easy to get a smooth finish. I have made a car and a rocket using ganache...you can see them in my photos.

Does ganache need to be refrigerated or can the cake stay out of the fridge for a couple days?

I agree ganache under the fondant makes the fondant much smoother. Plus it will harden and leave a more crisp edge.