How to install M75 AIR glass skates and grip tape

Those of you who picked up our first ever ultralight competitive FPS gaming mouse will know how much a performance monster it is. That being said, it can be improved with the addition of our M75 AIR glass skates and grip tape.

Now, enthusiasts have been customizing their mice like this for years, but it can be a lot of work and if you’re not careful you can potentially mess up your mouse. So, we’ve made grip tape and glass skates kits for the M75 AIR, so you can upgrade your mouse cheaply with ease. Here’s how to do it.

Firstly, you need a clean mouse. It doesn’t have to be completely pristine or anything, but the surface needs to be tidy, otherwise you risk compromising the result of your hard work. It’s worth mentioning here that you should not use alcohol-based cleaners on the M75 AIR, or indeed any of our gaming peripherals, as it can irreparably degrade the surface finish. Going over the mouse with a cloth will do here.

To install the glass skates, we must first remove the stock PTFE ones. (Do not remove the central one around the sensor as the upgrade kit does not contain a glass replacement for this one.) Simply peel them off using a plastic shim or other usefully shaped plastic tool, just don't use a metal one, as you risk slipping and scratching the mouse.

Remember that the standard PTFE skates will probably be destroyed during this process, so if you find yourself peeling them off in pieces, don’t worry, you’re not doing it wrong.

Before putting the new glass skates on, make sure to remove any lingering adhesive, as this will result in the glass skates not attaching to the underside of the M75 AIR evenly. They also have their own adhesive, so you don’t need to save the old stuff. Using something non-metal like we mentioned earlier will make it easier to scrape away the remaining glue.

To install the new ones, simply place them into the areas where the stock skates used to be. This isn’t too tricky as the glass skates are rigid, so they don’t flap around and they slot into the depressed slots where the old skates were.

After this, the skates will be installed, so take the mouse for a spin and enjoy the smooth gliding experience. If you’re not a grip tape person, then you’re all done, but for those who want to add grip tape, here we go.

This one is slightly tricker, so take your time. Rushing this process can result in misaligned grip tape which is annoying to some and downright unacceptable to the more neurotic of us.

Assuming that the surface of the mouse is clean, you simply peel the grip tape sections off the 3M backing and place them on the correct parts of the mouse.

The longer bits go along the side of the mouse, and the shorter ones go on the left and right mouse buttons. Refer to the image below before attempting, as peeling the tape off to try again will lessen the stickiness of the adhesive a little more each time. To make this process easier, you might want to secure the mouse down or recruit a friend to hold it still because it’s much easier to apply the tape with both hands.

And you’re done! Load up a game and enjoy the enhanced feeling of mobility from the glass skates and the more secure hand feel courtesy of the grip tape.