Aces of Trades: Derek Beam does more than just wash clients' vehicles
LANCASTER − Some people just want their dirty vehicle clean, where others want a full detail. Derek Beam can take care of the latter.
He owns Beam Clean Auto Detailing at 1774 Victor Road.
"There's a big difference between cleaning and detailing," Beam said. "With Beam Clean, when we detail we're taking the seats out. We're extracting every square inch of the carpet and upholstery. We're doing a full leather treatment on all the leather upholstery. We're detailing. We're not cleaning. We're blowing out all the air vents, we're taking apart all the doors. We're basically redoing every square inch of the vehicle."
Beam also takes care of the vehicle's exterior, of course.
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"Basically, What I tell everybody is if you can think of it when it comes to your vehicle, we can do it," he said. "And if I personally can't do it, I know somebody who does."
Beam said it takes four to six hours for a complete detail. His brother, Dakota, and wife, Ashley, also work with him, making Beam Clean a family business.
Beam has been in business since August 2015 after discovering a law enforcement career wasn't for him.
"I'll be honest with you," he said. "In 2012 I went through the police academy, and long story short, it just didn't work out. I didn't like it. I hated every day of my life. It started getting to me and started affecting the way I was even being a husband, a father. It was terrible."
Beam then worked in corrections at the Multi-County Juvenile Detention Center.
"I did that for a couple years and loved it until I didn't," he said. "Then we cashed out my 401k with the county and I spent the summer with the kids. Then bills don't stop but the money does and I got a job working at Buckeye Honda as a tech and doing oil changes. Then I went back to the wash area and detailed."
Someone got word that Beam detailed vehicles and offered him $300 to do their vehicle.
"So I went to lunch and went and picked this car up and did it, and I never went back to Buckeye Honda," Beam said.
However, he said he knew how to detail long before working at the dealership.
"I've been doing detailing my whole life as far as my own personal stuff," Beam said.
He stated his business on Cedar Hill Road but moved to his current Victor Road location a little more than a year ago.
Away from work, Beam enjoys guns and shooting. He also collects currency like silver and gold coins and old money.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Aces of Trades: Derek Beam does more than just wash client's vehicles
