Bear Ornament Push Mold

The following Instructable goes through the process for making a bear ornament using a push mold technique. The materials used for this example include an air dry modeling compound and PowerMold Re-Usable Mold Making Material. The PowerMold is used because of it firmness to allow clays, polymer clays, modeling compounds, or other materials to be pushed into the mold without deforming the mold shape.


The process begins by placing your object that you want to duplicate in a container. The container acts as your mold box. If the part might float use hot glue to glue it to the bottom of the mold box.  Spray or wipe the part and the mold box with a mold release such as a vegetable oil. Wipe away any access mold release. Too much mold release may make bubbles. You can also use some Bubble Buster to reduce bubbles from adhering to your part.

Melt the PowerMold in the microwave for a few moments to make it into a liquid. Do not overheat the PowerMold. If the PowerMold boils,  stir away as many bubbles as possible and then let the bubbles float up to the surface before pouring over your part. You are better off pouring the PowerMold when it is cooler because fewer bubbles will remain in the mold during the pour because of the higher viscosity.

Pour the mold making material so that it covers your part by about a ½ inch.  Use a toothpick or a paperclip to pull or wipe away any bubbles from areas where the bubbles may adhere such as in the eye sockets or other crevices. You don’t need to break the bubbles, just pull them away from the surface of your part.

Let the mold cool until it is a flexible rubber. To speed up the process, place the PowerMold mold in the freezer or refrigerator. This part took about 15 minutes to cool in the freezer. Make sure that the entire part is cool before proceeding.

Now, pull the mold out of the mold box. Clean up the back edge using a knife or scissors. Any PowerMold that you do remove can be re-used for your next mold, so don’t throw it away.

Pull the original shape out of your mold and examine your mold. You are now ready to make your castings in the mold.
Here we are using an air dry modeling compound that is lightweight and quick drying. The modeling compound is pressed into the mold filling all the areas. The technique shown here uses a single ball that is pushed into the mold, but it may be easier to use small pieces pushed into any areas that need special attention to be filled such as the ears or arms of the bear.

Use a knife or spatula to clean of the back surface as appropriate. Use your finger to press back the edges of the casting to create a smooth edge and make it easier to remove from the mold. When finished pushing in the modeling compound, pull the PowerMold away from the modeling compound as much as possible. This reduces the tension placed on the casting and reduces deformation.

This process is a great way to make duplicates rapidly and with amazing details. Your parts can be painted or finished any way that you like.

And when you are finished with your mold, the mold can be remelted to make new molds. Here are some examples of other parts molded and cast using the push mold technique.

Thank you for watching and please let us know if you have any questions or comments!