Bed liner as an alternative to interior carpet?

Been thinking about this for awhile now. The celica's carpet is nasty, and my friends think it's funny to dump soda drinks in my floorboard.

Would rhino liner work? Just roll it on thick and build up coats? It's water and slip resistant. And if buddies spill drinks, I can make them lick it up afterwards.

Only concerns: fumes, longevity, sound deadening? Any reason to say no?

Yes. But it will be ridiculously hot and noisy. I wouldn't do it again.

The floors of my XJ are coated in Raptor Liner w/no carpets. Definitely a bit noisy, but its not totally obnoxious. Heat hasn't been too bad either, but I have yet to run it this way through middle of summer heat. The tranny tunnel is very warm to the touch, but won't burn your hand or anything.

The fumes were kinda bad for a while, like when I first got the coating on I had the Jeep in the garage with the door shut the first night and woke up to the whole house absolutely REEKING of bed liner. The smell inside was still quite noticeable for about 2 months, but subsided significantly after that. Now that its getting hot again, it will still smell a little bit if parked in the sun all day.

I'd also highly recommend Raptor Liner as a product, it has held up to a fair bit of abuse so far without any chips that I've noticed.

And last but not least, don't get any on your hootus

Any surface prep required? I've never worked with this stuff.

My friend did this with roll on bedliner in his CJ, he ended up putting a cheap carpet kit back in after a few weeks - too hot and noisy. I'd suggest you train your friends - see how they feel about a 44oz jumbodiabeetusslurp on their floors.

Mostly kidding, but only mostly.

Yes, prep, prep, and more prep. I used Al's Liner which is the DIY version of Scorpion. I like it, yes the floorboards get hot, but they got hot before. I've got some thick rubber molded floor mats similar to Weathertech which help, but it's a Jeep, not a 7 series, it rides like a buck board, and it's hot, part of it.

All info about my experience and steps I did can be found here: Muffin

I used the thin spray on type in a miata, as everyone said its hot but since i didnt have carpet in the first place it was a bit of an upgrade in the sound deadning and insulation department. When i finally put carpets in before i sold it i was kicking myself for not doing it earlier, just carpet made the whole car feel less rattly race car and more like a real car. If its not a daily do it

Maybe you need to demonstrate how humorous it would be to urinate on their living room carpet.

If your friends can't be paper trained, get some new friends.

I used bed liner on the floor of my race car. I like it, but it is a bit noisy.

We bedliner'ed the floor of our 67 Ford F100 shop truck.

It is noisy, cold in the winter and hard to clean. Muddy footprints require a stiff bristled brush and some real elbow grease to get out. That dirt just hides in the texture.

I wouldn't do it again.

Sounds like I'm dying my carpet black...

My car hasnt had carpet for 3 years. It doesnt bother me at all.

Trackmouse wrote: Sounds like I'm dying my carpet black...

For our challenge car, we got fabric paint to do that. Seemed to work well, but if I were to do it again, I would start by dying it, then the fabric paint.

The final look was great- the original carpets were blue-gray, and black covered that really well.

I was thinking about doing bed liner once my interior goes to crap in the miata. I was thinking of drilling a hole in the floor on either side and using a boat drain plug. Rubber, low profile, waterproof, but with the ability to get spilled fluids out. Or spray the inside out at the carwash. I don't know how legal that plan is, but I bet it makes cleaning a hell of a lot easier.

The Samurai is lined. As stated, it's cold or hot. It's loud. If I spent a lot of time swimming with it, bed liner would be the only way to go. As it is, I'll be replacing the carpet in the not too distant future.

alfadriver wrote:

Trackmouse wrote: Sounds like I'm dying my carpet black...

For our challenge car, we got fabric paint to do that. Seemed to work well, but if I were to do it again, I would start by dying it, then the fabric paint. The final look was great- the original carpets were blue-gray, and black covered that really well.

Cool I used fabric paint and thought I might be called an idjiot for doing it.

I have used rustoleum bedliner and it outgased for months! If you use it give your car a few hot summer months to cook the stink out.

It has held up well everywhere except under the drivers pedals.

If you fabric paint the carpets make sure to pressure wash the carpet out of the car. That alone might just save the carpet by itself. If not pwash it again and the water will make the acrylic fabric paint go on 10x easier when damp and it will stick better because its clean.

I used the walmert cheap black stuff ($5 bottle with an apple) and did the mats and seats too. It has all held up very well with the exception of the floor mat just under the pedals.

Skip the dyes they dont last and will mess up adhesion with the paint.

Any chance finding a replacement OEM vinyl floor? That's assuming vinyl flooring was the base spec for that year of Celica.

I've come to the conclusion, I'd rather have vinyl flooring in all vehicles now. I've given Weather Tech enough money.

Maybe this type of commerical flooring could be molded?

It's 31 years old. No. And it's that cheapo felt carpet stuff.

Durabak http://www.durabakcompany.com/ carries a lot of colors and also a smooth or textured option. I used a tan color on the floor of my 78 Z28 and also took out the headliner and used on the interior roof. I added an insulated powder to the bedliner http://www.hytechsales.com/insulating_paint_additives.html to keep out heat

Trackmouse wrote: Any surface prep required? I've never worked with this stuff.

Wash your hootus thoroughly for best adhesion.