Re: coating instead of carpet
Try Herculiner.
So far it is the best I've been able to find for boats. It leaves a very nice thick coating, not thin like paint or even anything close to paint. And you don't need a sprayer or anything else special. Just a paint roller handle and disposeable roller pan liner. The roller is a very open pore foam and is needed to pick up the rubber particles to transfer to your surface.
I just used it on my bow mounted trolling motor deck. It is a very tuff urethane (aren't they all) with small particles of rubber added for grippers. It leaves a pretty rough texture if done the way the manufacturer reccommends. Too rough for me anyway.
I softened the texture like this:
First coat, apply as directed on the can (stirred well to suspend the rubber particles).
Second coat, no stirring, leaves the rubber particles at the bottom of the can. That way you can pour just the urethane into your roller pan and apply to the floor.
I bought a quart can at Murrays Auto parts for $29.00.
Gallons go for about $100. I used a little less than 1/2 of the quart on the bow mounted trolling motor deck, so if you are going to do floors, you may want to buy a gallon.
Note: The Gallon size come with a roller and other stuff, the Quart size does not. I bought a foam roller at Ace Hardware. It is for rough texture painting and it worked great.
Also: Don't let it get on anything you don't want it on later, it does not come off after it is dry. It sticks to everything, but your target surface should be clean, dry, and free of any loose flakey stuff. It could take many more than 24 hours to dry if it is not applied and dried in a 70 degree environment. I used it in my garage with the furnace on to get it to dry (Late September, 2006) and it was still tacky in 24 hours. Humidity actually helps it cure. The smell is atrocious so don't stay in there any longer than you have to. I'm sure I killed a few brain cells even with a respirator on.
I believe it only comes in black (mine was), but you can always paint it after it is fully cured. Mine will end up a light gray when I'm done.
I first tried a spray can product from Krylon. It was Krapola. It may work on a nice smooth surface like aluminum hulls, but looked terrible on wood. It is a glorified paint with tiny sand-like particles in it.
