I looked at my window rubber things toda, they are fuzzy on the inside, not just rubber, Isn't that mole skin?

 

same question!

 

No, that's mole fuzz. Mole skin is much more rare and expensive, because you have to kill the mole to get it, whereas mole fuzz can be harvested from mole herds several times a year without harming the moles.

 

 

Some TL's had fuzzy inside wipes. If you have fuzzy wipes then you don't need moleskin.

Check out this Yahoo search for more details:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=fre...GFeQABAA%40%40

 

I thought "fuzzy wipes" were for hemoroids....???



Mike_TX,,, Is it not true it takes 8 moles for one TL tint job??? That might explain the cost......

 

Well, it depends on the size of the individual moles, but 8 hides is a good average for the TL. But the cost has also gone up mainly because animal rights organizations have been campaigning to ban mole ranching in general, and especially their killing and skinning.

I've been seeing some imported skins from Taiwan over the past few months, but they just aren't up to the standards of domestic skins, and believe me you wouldn't want them in your car. And there are some cheap Mexican rat skins being passed off as mole on the black market, too ... be sure you deal only with reputable tint shops who are members of the American Mole Byproducts Association.

Scientists have been working for years on synthethic mole skin, but they haven't yet been able to reproduce the unique color and texture (and smell) of the "real thing", and the synthetic stuff is currently cost-prohibitive anyway. The best hope seems to be cloning, but the mole feedlots and butchering and tanning operations would have to be moved outside the U.S. to get away from the nuts at PETA. Unfortunately, that means mole skin will continue to be pricey.

But you can do what some of us have done - raise your own moles and do the skinning yourself. For those who are good with their hands, there's an excellent step-by-step guide at www.killandskinamoleandmakeyourownmoleskin.com .