I have been thinking about how to finish the floor of the fuselage, particularly where pilot and passenger will inevitably scuff the aluminum whether painted or left unfinished. I have see some builders use the non-skid step material that is applied to the wing but I thought the rough surface might be hard to clean if you got some dirt ground into it.
I decided to check out the flooring department at Lowes and found some thin black vinyl/rubber material used for steps in houses. I decided to pick up a piece and test on some scrap aluminum in the shop. I scotchbrited one side of the aluminum sheet and painted the reverse side in both primer and finish color. I then glued a piece of the vinyl material to both sides using a contact cement named PLIOBAOND. I had used this cement for attaching the heat shields inside the wingtips and it seemed to work well.
The test seemed to work on both sides of the aluminum plate, however, the glue did wrinkle the paint when applied. I think the best procedure will be to glue the rubber floor protectors to the scotchbrited floor panels, tape them off, and paint around them. The vinyl material should be easy to clean with a little water and a clean rag. I will also be able to clean up any errant glue around the edges of the rubber with some acetone before the paint is applied. I think it will make a neat job and allow me to avoid carpet.
