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Author: Steve_Miller, Contributing Editor
| The first step in the process is to hang one of the hands and coat the piece with a release agent. you can buy release agent in aerosol form or you can make your own. (I make my own release agent by melting 8 ounces of vaseline in a metal container and then mixing it with a quart of mineral spirits.) I like to spray my pieces with a fine mist before I start to mold them and give them a little time for the solvent to evaporate before I apply the rubber. It is also a good idea to make sure you put a piece of plastic or something under the area where you are going to be applying the rubber.
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 | Now that the solvent has evaporated I start to apply the rubber. I put the first two coats of rubber on very thin to make sure I capture the details of the lines. This rubber is so thin it will actually run off the piece (hence the need for the plastic on the floor.) This leaves a very thin film of rubber and you must add to that with additional coats. |  |
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| For the additional coats I introduce cabosil into the rubber. Cabosil is fumed silica, a very fine powder that acts as a thickener. This helps achieve the thickness needed to give the mold more strength. At this point I also cut pieces of straws and inserted them into the ends of the fingers where air would have a tendency to trap.
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| Next, I made a quick mold out of plastiline and poured some shims and keys. These will be added to the sides of the rubber mold to create a dividing line.
(shim and key molds are shown to the right) |  |
| Below is a picture of the shims after they have been demolded. |
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