Model: SKM-73 (NVIDIA Fairies2)
Price: $19.95 - FrozenCPU.com
Forged at QuakeCon, one of the most grueling and competitive gaming events ever conceived—the RatpadzGS Mouse Pad was developed for gamers where second-best is not an option. Today, I’ll show you how to transform your plain, black RatpadzGS mouse pad into a work of art with an accessory from the folks at PolyGFX, who make custom, durable skins for everything from PCs to refrigerators—PolyGFX Ratpadz Skins.
PolyGFX’s Ratpadz Skins aren’t just your garden-variety decals or appliqués. Made of durable vinyl, the skins feature PolyGFX’s EZ-Apply material technology with thousands of microscopic air channels that allow air to pass through the skin without causing those problematic air bubbles so common with other products. Ratpadz Skins are pre-cut for the RatpadzGS mouse pad, and an applicator is not required to install them. Finally, plus the skin is guaranteed by Poly GFX to last for at least three years, which is longer than some gamers keep their rigs before building new ones. Sound good? Let’s see just how quick and easy it is to install, and check out the results.
The Ratpadz Skin I’ll be installing is the one with the two NVIDIA Fairies Dawn and Dusk with NVIDIA’s “The Way It’s Meant To Be Played” logo—Part Number SKM-73 available from FrozenCPU.com. While PolyGFX ships their mouse pad skins rolled up in a tube with an instruction sheet when you order directly from them, the Ratpadz Skin I received from FrozenCPU was rolled up with two rubber bands, but it wasn’t protected with a tube, and there was no instruction sheet. Fortunately, the Ratpadz Skin wasn’t harmed by the omission of the protective tube, and is so easy to install, instructions aren’t really necessary, especially since the skin is already pre-cut to fit the Ratpadz GS mouse pad.
If your Ratpadz mouse pad has seen heavy use during those late-night caffeine and junk food-inducted frag sessions, then you’ll want to clean the surface of the Ratpadz first to make sure the adhesive of the Ratpadz Skin has a good bond. I used a little 91% Isopropyl Alcohol available from any supermarket or drug store, and some lint-free paper towels, but warm, soapy water or a good non-abrasive, general-purpose cleaner like Glass Plus also do just fine. Avoid orange oil or other citrus oil-based cleaners, as they can prevent the adhesive on the Ratpadz Skin from sticking properly.
After you’ve cleaned the mouse pad, it’s time to install the skin. Starting with the right-hand side of the skin, carefully peel the Ratpadz Skin about an inch away from its backing (do not completely remove the backing from the skin) and carefully line it up with the right-hand edge of the mouse—just where the textured surface and the smooth, rounded edge of the pad meets.
Once you’ve got the edge lined up perfect, press it down in place. Be advised that taking your time and working slowly and carefully to make sure the skin is aligned properly is important—while PolyGFX says the skin can be removed later on if you so choose, they do not say that it can be successfully reapplied once you have removed it. Assuming that you can get the adhesive to stick properly a second time around, aligning the entire pad, which is naturally curly, without the paper backing, is going to be very difficult and messy to say the least. Although you may be tempted to hurry through the process, your best bet is to align the skin properly and work slowly and carefully for the best results the first time.
Carefully pull back the skin’s adhesive backing another inch or so and press it down, making sure everything is aligned properly—the edges of the Ratpadz Skin should be aligned with the edges of the mouse pad’s textured surface as perfect as you can make it. Working slowly and carefully, keep inching the backing off and pressing the skin into place until the backing has been completely removed, and the Ratpadz Skin is installed. Smooth everything down firmly with your hands a few times, and take a moment to admire your handiwork.
PolyGFX Ratpadz Skins are available in a number of exciting designs from FrozenCPU.com for only $19.95. If none of the standard designs strikes your particular fancy, send PolyGFX your own custom design and they’ll send you a mouse pad skin that will not only round out the total look of your tricked-out rig, but make you the envy of every LAN party.
Overall, I’m pleased with the PolyGFX Ratpadz Skins and rate them as a must-have for anyone with a Ratpadz GS mouse pad looking to add a little extra Bling to their desktop. Reasonably priced and easy to install, it took me about twenty minutes, give or take a minute or two, to convert an ordinary RatpadzGS into a stunning piece of artwork, whose textured surface also works well for those all those intense DOOM3 and Half-Life 2 battles into the wee hours of the morning. After all, who says you can’t look good while Gettin' Medieval on demons from Hell, Headcrab Zombies and the Combine occupation forces of City 17?
