questions for tornador users

[Iowa MO]

Hello, I’ve been reading a lot of posts over the past month here at AGO and now have a couple of questions about the tornador. I was hoping that a couple of members who have experience with the tornador could answer
1) Is it as awesome as the marketing videos show?

2) When using on soft surfaces, do you first wash with APC then do a second pass with just plain hot water? Or would you want to use an extractor with plain water for the second pass? Or do you not need a second pass – just wipe up with a micro-fiber after the first pass?

3) Does anyone have experience with the velocity vac attachment? Does it replace the need for an extractor for a weekender like myself?

4) What surfaces do you use the tornador to clean? Carpets? Floor mats? Headliners? Seats? Consoles? Leather? Inside the house for any uses (e.g. tile)?

5) I saw the how-to that Nick put together about using the tornador for engine detailing, when would you use the brush attachment vs the plain nozzle?

6) What cleaning solutions do you use with the tornador? APC for hard surfaces? Folex for carpets? Plain water?

Background about my potential uses for said tornador: My wife has a 2002 Ford Ranger that was given to her by her late grandfather - the truck has never been deep cleaned/detailed. I would like to make it shine again especially on the inside where there is smoke, dirt, and 13 years of grime. I also have a couple of daily drivers that are newer (2013 & 2014 Fords) that I would like to keep clean.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s input

[Damonsfcd]

Subscribed. Also curious. Great questions!

[ViGi]

For professional users tornador and extractor is a MUST, but for keeping your cars 2/3 you may not need that much a tornador, you need a big compresor to run the tornador. Microfibers, brushes, chemicals, a litle time and you can shine your cars without tornador. Maybe for fabric seats if they are very soiled you need extractor to deep clean them but if you maintain regulary you dont need these tools.

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[70fastback]

I had nothing to lose with this seat. It is going with the car to the scrap yard and I just wanted to see what the Tornador Black could do. Since it was so bad, I pretreated with Folex then used the Tornador along with turbo cleaner enzyme concentrate. I'm not sure where all the dirt went, nor do I care...
This was after one pass with the fluid nozzle open and one pass with it closed.



This last picture was after some scrubbing and more Folex followed up with a pressure washer....just wanted to see how much damage I could do.

[Iowa MO]

70fastback: Those are some solid results! I never thought of using my pressure washer on the seats!

ViGi: I forgot to mention that I already have a 33 gallon compressor in my workshop, so I have that covered. It sounds like you are telling me to save my money by maintaining my newer vehicles and putting some elbow grease into the old Ranger.

[ViGi]

If you have a compressor then it's not a big deal to bay a tornador if you are interested to keep your car clean. When I detail a car I use a lot of options like normal cimpressed air, tornador, vacuming, extracting, but if I had to care only for my car, I would not need all of them.

As for your question it is nearly as awesome as marketing videos. You will love it.

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[FinishingTouchA]

I run a detailing business and we have the tornador black running most of the day every day. If I were just keeping my own vehicles clean though I wouldn't mess with one. The base model isn't worth it and the black is a pretty big investment, You can get everything just as clean with an inexpensive brush set. But if you're running a business or you clean very dirty vehicles on the regular I would definitely recommend the Tornador Black, It cuts down a lot of time when you're focus is profit per hour.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Hello, I’ve been reading a lot of posts over the past month here at AGO and now have a couple of questions about the tornador. I was hoping that a couple of members who have experience with the tornador could answer
1) Is it as awesome as the marketing videos show?

2) When using on soft surfaces, do you first wash with APC then do a second pass with just plain hot water? Or would you want to use an extractor with plain water for the second pass? Or do you not need a second pass – just wipe up with a micro-fiber after the first pass?

3) Does anyone have experience with the velocity vac attachment? Does it replace the need for an extractor for a weekender like myself?

4) What surfaces do you use the tornador to clean? Carpets? Floor mats? Headliners? Seats? Consoles? Leather? Inside the house for any uses (e.g. tile)?

5) I saw the how-to that Nick put together about using the tornador for engine detailing, when would you use the brush attachment vs the plain nozzle?

6) What cleaning solutions do you use with the tornador? APC for hard surfaces? Folex for carpets? Plain water?

Background about my potential uses for said tornador: My wife has a 2002 Ford Ranger that was given to her by her late grandfather - the truck has never been deep cleaned/detailed. I would like to make it shine again especially on the inside where there is smoke, dirt, and 13 years of grime. I also have a couple of daily drivers that are newer (2013 & 2014 Fords) that I would like to keep clean.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s input

1.) It's awesome! No hype, once it hits your hands, you'll be looking to use it as much as possible. You're going to go looking for projects to use it on.... Crazy fun to use.

2.) Blast away with Tornador... It's compressed air with a mix of (whatever cleaning product you use) in spun to crazy RPM's. Dirty headliners or salt stains behind the pedals don't stand a chance against Tornador... After using the tool, follow up with a MF to wipe up. For cup holders, vents, head liners, switch it over to air and dry. The blend knob will give a nice blend and allow you to scale back on product delivered vs. air.

3.) Does not replace the need for an Extractor. I have both. For soiled carpets, mats and cloth seats, I still use the extractor for a uniform appearance. Don't know about the attachment you mention.

4.) Surfaces??? Anything dirty. Wheels, tires, wheel wells, leather seats, plastics, vinyl parts, you name it. Just use caution and read the directions of your cleaning products. High density APC's should be diluted according to directions.

5.) I never use the the brush attachment. I did once, and the spinning mechanism touched the surface of what I was cleaning. It did nothing to the surface, but I was concerned about the Tornador. I haven't used it to clean an engine yet... Honestly, I follow Nick & Mike Phillips engine cleaning techniques (old school) and get great results. I will need to find that link and give it a try. There are so many uses who can think of them all???

6.)Pretty much APC, water, etc... just read the directions. Things that are acidic are not good for the Tornador. You want PH Balanced products.

Personally, I love the Tornador... After getting it, I have to fight my Interior Gal to get my hands on it. She loves it! It's her favorite tool and loves using it.

We had a customer who purchased a used Ford Ranger. She purchased it from an owner who chain smoked. We used the Tornador on everything.... Door jams, vinyl flooring, head liner, everything! We carpet extracted the seats and then followed up the so2pure and NO MORE SMOKE smell and the interior looked new. The customer was blown away.. and not by old cigarette smoke!

Get it! You're going to love it! No hype... it works.

For my cars I'm OCD... so I wouldn't need it. For customers cars... absolute must!

[70fastback]

70fastback: Those are some solid results! I never thought of using my pressure washer on the seats!

Another AGO member tried it and I thought it was a crazy idea...I figured with this seat going to the junkyard, I would give it a try. Just need to make sure you have plenty of time for it to dry! The Florida sun helps here! Oh, one other thing...I used the lowest pressure nozzle.

[Audios S6]

1.) It's awesome! No hype, once it hits your hands, you'll be looking to use it as much as possible. You're going to go looking for projects to use it on.... Crazy fun to use.

2.) Blast away with Tornador... It's compressed air with a mix of (whatever cleaning product you use) in spun to crazy RPM's. Dirty headliners or salt stains behind the pedals don't stand a chance against Tornador... After using the tool, follow up with a MF to wipe up. For cup holders, vents, head liners, switch it over to air and dry. The blend knob will give a nice blend and allow you to scale back on product delivered vs. air.

3.) Does not replace the need for an Extractor. I have both. For soiled carpets, mats and cloth seats, I still use the extractor for a uniform appearance. Don't know about the attachment you mention.

4.) Surfaces??? Anything dirty. Wheels, tires, wheel wells, leather seats, plastics, vinyl parts, you name it. Just use caution and read the directions of your cleaning products. High density APC's should be diluted according to directions.

5.) I never use the the brush attachment. I did once, and the spinning mechanism touched the surface of what I was cleaning. It did nothing to the surface, but I was concerned about the Tornador. I haven't used it to clean an engine yet... Honestly, I follow Nick & Mike Phillips engine cleaning techniques (old school) and get great results. I will need to find that link and give it a try. There are so many uses who can think of them all???

6.)Pretty much APC, water, etc... just read the directions. Things that are acidic are not good for the Tornador. You want PH Balanced products.

Personally, I love the Tornador... After getting it, I have to fight my Interior Gal to get my hands on it. She loves it! It's her favorite tool and loves using it.

We had a customer who purchased a used Ford Ranger. She purchased it from an owner who chain smoked. We used the Tornador on everything.... Door jams, vinyl flooring, head liner, everything! We carpet extracted the seats and then followed up the so2pure and NO MORE SMOKE smell and the interior looked new. The customer was blown away.. and not by old cigarette smoke!

Get it! You're going to love it! No hype... it works.

For my cars I'm OCD... so I wouldn't need it. For customers cars... absolute must!

For engines I use zep citrus 4:1 and wipe or blow dry. Engines done in 15 minutes.