Give New Life to Your Worn Out Mousemat!

by Ganoderma in Circuits > Computers

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Give New Life to Your Worn Out Mousemat!

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In this instructable I will explain how you can give new life to your old mousemat using stuff you might already have around the house.

Materials

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What you will need:
- An old mousemat (or one you don't like anymore)
  Most likely, you have one around somewhere ;)
- Vinyl film (any design you like)
  I got mine at a local hardware store for €5 (200cm x 45cm, so plenty left for other things ;))
  NOTE: Shiny vinyl might give problems with some optical mouses, so make sure to test your mouse on the vinyl first. 
- An x-acto knife or other sharp hobby knife (not shown)
  Make sure it is sharp, this makes it a lot easier to cut the vinyl.

Cutting the Vinyl Film.

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Measure out a piece of vinyl film a little bigger then your mousemat and cut it out using scissors or your knife.
I did this by simply placing the mousemat on the paper backing of the vinyl film and cutting ~1cm around the edges.

Preparing Your Mousemat.

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This step is very easy, simply peel off the top layer of your mousemat.
If you have the same type as I did: it's a sticky plastic layer put on a rubber surface.
We will use the rubber layer, make sure to properly clean off any dirt or glue.

Sticking the Vinyl On.

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Peel off a bit of an edge of the paper backing on the vinyl film.
Then lay the vinyl on the mousemat so it covers it all and stick the loose part on.
Slowly peel off the paper backing while sticking the vinyl on.

You can use a credit card or similar to flatten it without any airbubbles.

Finishing It Up.

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Using your knife or some scissors, cut off the excess vinyl.

Congratulations, you now have a nice looking mousemat again :)
If it wears out again, simply peel off the vinyl again and put some new vinyl on.

I've been using this without any problems, my mouse responds great even if it's in 2000dpi mode. 

If you have any tips on improving this instructable, feel free to comment :)