What's the single best investment for interiors?

rustytruck

rustytruck

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As part of my express detail service I do a quick sprucing up of the interior. That includes a full vacuum of interior and a quick wipe down of the vinyl. I want to do one step better and I'm looking for advice as to what that step should be. I have a cyclo with aqua carpet scrub brushes. I never use them but could. I'm strictly a mobile detailer. Some items I've been thinking about are extractor, steamer, Tornador. I'm only buying one thing. But what has the best bang for the buck/best return on investment. How much money could i add to the price of my service by adding that one thing. mobile detailers I could really use your expertise here. Thanks
 
Go with the tornado. You can spot clean carpet plus blast dirt out of everywhere. Great for dash vents and cup holders. I use one everyday.
Hope that helps.
Jim
 
I would say a steamer is the best investment, you can use it for interior, engine bay, door jams, etc......
 
Your express service sounds fine the way it is. You don't want to add too much to an express service and charge more because most people understand an express service isn't going to be anything extensive. My express service on the interior consists of full vacuum, quick wipe down of dash, glass and air freshened.

If you want to invest in something somewhat expensive like a steamer or extractor this will really help your more extensive detail packages like your regular full details and higher packages. A steam cleaner is a good idea but it's not necessarily something that you can charge more for using. A steamer can help you to get a bigger job done faster though which can allow you to do more jobs per day so in that sense it's a good investment. A nice hot water extractor can make some nice up-sales though. My regular full detail package includes a basic spot and stain removal by hand but if the client wants a full shampoo of all fabric, floor mats, etc then that can add anywhere from $50-$125 to the price of the full detail. You can also try to persuade the client to add fabric protection service to protect the freshly shampooed carpet/fabric for an additional cost.
 
If you have to pick one...considering the service you are already offering, I would say Tornador hands down. You can upgrade customers to a crevice cleaning, and the Tornador will make it a piece of cake.

I own 2 extractors, 3 Tornadors, and a steamer. I think a Tornador is your best bet, and also the easiest piece to upsell from what you're already offering.

The extractor would be where I go next. A steamer in my opinion is just nice to have. It's not a necessity, and not much of an up sell unless you offer hypoallergenic interior services. If you get the extractor, and you have the Tornador...you are pretty much covering all your bases. You can offer full interior services at that point.

But, the steamer is useful as hell, don't get me wrong. You can get by without one though. Honestly, if you're gonna get an extractor...just buy a cheaper steam cleaner to go with it. You can get one that does a decent job for about $100. If you're already spending $700...what's another $100, ha. Probably the detailer geek in me talking there!
 
If your mobile, I would say steamer. Doesn't require a compressor to power. Buy if you have a shop I would say the tornador. You can't really go wrong with either! I bought a Mytee Lite II and I LOVE it. But if I could do it again I would buy the steamer FIRST then buy the extractor.
 
I guess the biggest question is, do you have a compressor already? If you do, then I would say Tornador hands down. That cuts down so much time in both cleaning and dressing. I know the local car washes bought 5 of them and are offering a "express detail" for $70 and its basically a car wash and vac with the added bonus of getting your dash cleaned with the Tornador.

I use the Tornador for cleaning carpets, headliners, seats, exterior trim, floor mats, basically everything that you would use a rag and brush for. Then Ill switch out the tanks and do a quick spray of dressing. This is where a huge amount of time is shaved for me. It applies dressing really well and you use so little so that also saves money. Perfect for doing vents and switches.
 
I am also mobile and have been considering buying the tornador for a few weeks now, this was really helpful. thanks guys!
 
I was looking at the tarnador black but it seems you need a pretty big compressor. I work out of a pick up truck so space is not a problem but loading/unloading time and weight are a consideration. If I could run it off something small/light like that porter cable 6 gallon electric compressor that would be cool but it seems like i need something bigger/heavier.
 
I use the porter cable compresser you can get at home depot. It will work fine. Have been using it for 4 years now no issues.
 
Josh@BR said:
Your express service sounds fine the way it is. You don't want to add too much to an express service and charge more because most people understand an express service isn't going to be anything extensive. My express service on the interior consists of full vacuum, quick wipe down of dash, glass and air freshened.
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well said. don't add any more to the 'express' package. but offer another package that includes a couple extras and make it available for those who would like to spend more.

my express is pretty close to the above quoted reply. my 'mini' detail is the next step up and includes leather conditioning, dressing the dash, and steam cleaning of the floormats (not the full carpet - just floormats).
 
For those they say TORNADOR am I correct that in order to use this item YOU MUST HAVE A COMPRESSOR with the CORRECT CFM/PRESSURE?
 
215Detailing said:
For those they say TORNADOR am I correct that in order to use this item YOU MUST HAVE A COMPRESSOR with the CORRECT CFM/PRESSURE?
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Yes, it runs off a compressor. I have the traditional one (white) and it will only really run off my 30gal 6.9 CFM @90psi compressor. I've tried it with an 8 gal and a 6 gal and it wouldn't run. Well, it would run but just for about 15-30 secs and I'd be waiting for it to air up again. It wasn't worth it and it took longer to use as oppossed to just doing everything by hand. If you have the right size compressor, its totally worth it!
 
rustytruck said:
I was looking at the tarnador black but it seems you need a pretty big compressor. I work out of a pick up truck so space is not a problem but loading/unloading time and weight are a consideration. If I could run it off something small/light like that porter cable 6 gallon electric compressor that would be cool but it seems like i need something bigger/heavier.
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The Tornador Black is designed to run off small compressors actually. That's sort of the draw to it, and it claims double the power.

The Tornador classic does need a bigger compressor. But, even then...I've run mine off smaller compressors before. As long as you don't pull out a pancake compressor...you should be good.
 
Well there goes that idea. I just brought a porter cable 6 gallon pancake compressor home from hd. So you think it's not going to run the tarnador black. Nice thing about it was size and only weighs 34 pounds.
 
I have a tornador, but no compressor. While at DetailFest I had some pretty in depth conversation with Mike about what size compressor I would need to run it. He and several others Said you would need a pretty big one. So I bought a steamer instead! Lol already have a generator! Haha
 
rustytruck said:
Well there goes that idea. I just brought a porter cable 6 gallon pancake compressor home from hd. So you think it's not going to run the tarnador black. Nice thing about it was size and only weighs 34 pounds.
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No, I meant for the classic Tornador. The new Black one should work.
 
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