portal, San Francisco

For more than 30 years, Paul Dickerson has done his part to beautify the Bay Area's hilly streets. A fully insured car detailer, he cleans, polishes, and restores coaches out of an auto shop stocked with deluxe tools. An eco-friendly LaserWash cleanses cars without any contact from disgusting human fingers. Steam machines scour engines, restoring a like-new shine to pistons. Wet sand smoothes and polishes paint, and clay bars bounce dirt and grime hanging out in the tiny pores of car paint. These tools fit neatly into the back of Dickerson's cargo van, which he uses for mobile details. When he's not caring for cars, Paul devotes himself to giving back to the community through Fuel for Change, a program that transforms auto and gas profits into resources for humanitarian projects.