How do you get your fondant cakes so wet/shiny/glossy looking? I've covered a lot of cakes, but mine never look shiny like that. I've used a paint brush with water to wet the whole cake before (to do zebra stripes), but it looks streaky & it eventually dries.

How do they get that wet look? Are they using water or shortening? Or something else?

ASteam

A clothes steamer works well.  Just hold it far enough away in case it spits.

Does it stay shiny?  I tried that once and after a few hours the shine went away.

It will dry after a few hours and the shine will dull. 
 

I made a jellyfish cake recently (for fun) that I wanted to look shiny so I rubbed it with vegetable shortening. It worked pretty well and the shine stayed but it kinda made me not want to eat the fondant! I have also seen a cake recently that had a very shiny apple on the top of it. I have never tried it but she got it so shiny by using mirror glaze from this site. http://pastryportal.com/glazes-sauces-c-20/glazes-c-20_72/mirror-glaze-p-243.html#.USaZTkqDTu0

I mix gum arabic with water and then paint the cake with it (thinly). It stays shiny, even when it dries.

AHey PatrysV... whats gum arabic.? Thanks

Liquid Glucose (or corn syrup) thinned down with vodka - paint it on - it doesn't stay tacky but the shine stays...... unlike STEAM which once the condensation has evaporated - no shine!  

AI just use vodka