Dispenser and piston for dispensing a liquid material

A dispenser for dispensing a liquid onto a substrate includes a dispenser body having an output and a reservoir in fluid communication with the output, the reservoir being defined by a wall and adapted to hold a supply of liquid to be dispensed. A piston is disposed in the reservoir and adapted to pressurize the liquid so that an amount of liquid is dispensed from the output of the dispenser. The piston includes a base portion having an outer periphery and having a first hardness, and a skirt portion integrally molded to the outer periphery of the base portion and having a second hardness lower than the first hardness. A two-shot molding operation may be used to form the piston with the base portion being, for example, formed in the first shot of the molding operation and the skirt portion being formed in the second shot of the molding operation.