Yesterday afternoon I decided to wash both cars. First up was the Mini. I backed it out into the driveway, unfurled the hose and filled up two 5-gallon buckets (one with soap and water and the other with plain water.) After I finished washing and drying Ladybug I let it roll further down the driveway to pull out the Miata.
As I walked back into the garage I noticed that right smack along the middle seam of the RaceDeck flooring it was buckling up an inch or so. The sun was beating down on the first few feet into the garage and I guess the heat was causing the plastic tiles to expand. Odd that it was right in the middle, there is at least and inch gap between the wall and flooring on both sides for it to move into.
So I moved the Miata out and tried to stomp on and slid the edges outward to flatten the floor in the middle. Not that it really is a problem it would only happen on a sunny warm day with the garage door up for more than a few minutes, but it did upset my uncontrollable need for order. I have been thinking about moving the 24 carpeted tiles from between the two designated parking areas for a while. The carpet gets dirty from car tires hitting the edges and debris being blown in by the westerly breezes running straight up the driveway.
Now would be a good time to do it. Instead of washing the CTBNL I spent the next few hours rearranging the interlocking plastic floor tiles. First I started by basically breaking the floor in half, right up the seam where it was buckling. This gave me access to the middle “aisle” of carpeted flooring. Then I broke apart the inside extended section where the RaceDeck flooring stops by the second door, this was the replacement for the 2′ wide by 12′ long section of carpet. The carpet was then formed into a 3′ by 8′ area to fill in where the CircleTrac style tiles were.
This afternoon the CTBNL received its slightly delayed, but much needed, washing. I just started using the 2 bucket wash method here after I bought an orange Home Depot bucket to compliment my blue Lowes bucket I brought with me. It is probably overkill for the 18-year old Miata, as it came with plenty dings and scratches all over. And I’ve added more. But the paint on the newer and fewer miles Mini is in better shape and might benefit from it. I don’t think I’ll go as far as buying grit guards, but this should protect the finishes of the cars some.