A METHOD OF APPLYING A DURABLE COATING TO A SUBSTRATE SUCH AS FLOORS, WALLS, FURNITURE, METAL AND THE LIKE INVOLVING APPLYING TO THE SUBSTRATE A BASE COATING OF AN AQUEOUS COPOLYMER DISPERSION, ADDING SOLID PARTICULATE AGGREGATE TO THE BASE COAT, DRYING THE MIXTURE AND THEN ADDING A TOP COAT OF AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A CROSSLINKABLE COPOLYMERIC COMPOSITION COMPRISING AN AQUEOUS COPOLYMER DISPERSION PREPARED FROM, ON AN OVERALL BASIS, ABOUT 30 TO ABOUT 60 WEIGHT PERCENT OF A COMBINATION OF AT LEAST ONE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HARDENING MONOMER AND AT LEAST ONE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED SOFTENING MONOMER, AND FROM ABOUT 1 TO ABOUT 10 WEIGHT PERCENT OF A CROSS-LINKING AGENT, SAID HARDENING MONOMER THE TOTAL MONOMERS AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STYRENE, ACRYLONITRILE, AND ALKYL METHACRYLATES, AND SAID SOFTENING MONOMER COMPRISING UP TO ABOUT 75 WEIGHT PERCENT OF THE TOTAL MONOMER COMPOSITION AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKYL ACRYLATES CONTAINING FROM 1 TO 10 CARBON ATOMS IN THE AKLYL GROUP, AND DRYING TO FORM AN ATTRACTIVE, TOUGH AND RESILIENT COATING.