Lots of things named above work well - including simple stain/strong varnish of the plywood. EPOXY garage floor enamel has been good as well. Here - butcher block laminate with polyurethane finish for the reloading bench, short/tight weave carpet for the stock making/refinishing bench (covered with plastic sheet when making lots of chips), and linoleum (as someone else mentioned above) for the benches where oily stuff happens and where the surface takes a beating. Covered one with steel sheet once (forget whether it was galvanized or stainless) and it was good for smoothness and cleanup - but a few problems arose when it became punctured/slit/dented. Hope this is of help.
