Real curb-side work · Joplin metro

Gallery.
Restorations.
Real results.

Ten before/after pairs from the last stretch of jobs — five headlight restorations and five black trim revivals across the Joplin metro. Every photo was shot at the curb, on-site, with the same wraparound lighting the crew works under.

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Ten real-world curb jobs
Headlight + trim coverage
Side-by-side & stacked views
Joplin metro + Four States

The set at a glance

Pairs10
Headlight jobs5
Trim jobs5
Clear-coat warranty1 yr

Photos are shot vertically on-site. Pinch-to-zoom on a real result to read the finish at the lens edge — the Owner can swap any of these ten in seconds.

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All10 Headlight5 Trim5

Showing 10 of 10

Ten pairs. Side-by-side.

Each card shows the same photo pair — before on the left, after on the right, with a short caption under each image and a result blurb below. Mobile stacks the same content into a single column for swiping.

Photos are placeholder until the Owner drops the real pairs in at the same file paths. Layout, captions, badges, and result blurbs are all live now.

01

Headlight

2014 Ford F-150 XLT · lenses

Before restoration — 2014 Ford F-150 XLT · lenses — Road-fog and salt haze — driver-side lens read cloudy at five feet.

After restoration — 2014 Ford F-150 XLT · lenses — Crystal clarity, sealed under a one-year UV clear coat.

Both lenses came up nearly new — yellowing lifted through the sand progression and the clear coat bonded cleanly across the full lens face. Pair parked in time for the Carthage commute.

One-year clear coat bonds to the lens and is warrantied against yellowing.

02

Headlight

2011 Toyota Camry LE · lenses

Before restoration — 2011 Toyota Camry LE · lenses — Oxidation haze with light pitting on the lower half of both lenses.

After restoration — 2011 Toyota Camry LE · lenses — Sand progression through 3000 grit brought the lens back to clear.

Atypical pitting on the lower half sanded flat, then compounded to match the upper half. Customer said it looked like the car had spent its life in a garage — which it had not.

One-year clear coat bonds to the lens and is warrantied against yellowing.

03

Headlight

2007 Chevy Silverado Classic · lenses

Before restoration — 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic · lenses — Twelve years of UV — lenses looked frosted before the bulbs even warmed up.

After restoration — 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic · lenses — Compounding + fine polish, sealed under warranty-grade clear coat.

Work truck parked outside every day — the haze was nearly surface-wide. Two-step compound pass + fine polish brought both lenses back to lamp-shop clarity. Truck left with the owner’s daughter driving it home from college.

One-year clear coat bonds to the lens and is warrantied against yellowing.

04

Headlight

2018 Subaru Outback Premium · lenses

Before restoration — 2018 Subaru Outback Premium · lenses — Light surface haze from a few winters — caught just before it set hard.

After restoration — 2018 Subaru Outback Premium · lenses — Soft polish + clear coat, lens left glossy under the daylight LEDs.

Owner caught it early, only a few winters in. Single-stage polish with UV protection was all it needed — finished inside the 90-minute headlight window.

One-year clear coat bonds to the lens and is warrantied against yellowing.

05

Headlight

2016 Honda Civic EX · lenses

Before restoration — 2016 Honda Civic EX · lenses — Asymmetric haze — driver-side lens far worse than the passenger side.

After restoration — 2016 Honda Civic EX · lenses — Both lenses evened up to match; one-year warranty started fresh.

Asymmetric haze is common on cars that face one direction in the driveway. Driver side caught the higher UV, so it took an extra compound pass. Both lenses cleared and now read uniform at any distance.

One-year clear coat bonds to the lens and is warrantied against yellowing.

06

Trim

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo · trim

Before restoration — 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo · trim — Faded gray plastic on the lower cladding — typical sun-baked trim look.

After restoration — 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo · trim — Deep-cleaned, resurfaced, sealed to satin black with a one-year warranty.

Whole lower-trim pass: deep-clean first, then the resurfacing agent bonded to the plastic on contact. Cladding went from milky gray to a satin black that holds finger-light scuffs without showing.

Satin-black trim finish, sealed under the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

07

Trim

2009 Toyota Tacoma SR5 · trim

Before restoration — 2009 Toyota Tacoma SR5 · trim — Wheel-well trim and door sills grayed-out from a decade of gravel roads.

After restoration — 2009 Toyota Tacoma SR5 · trim — Satin black across wheel arches, sills, and lower door trim.

Bed work — resurfacing took the whole perimeter (wheel arches, sills, lower door trim) from chalky gray to a uniform satin black. Owner runs gravel in northwest Arkansas; the trim now matches the rest of the truck.

Satin-black trim finish, sealed under the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

08

Trim

2015 Ford Escape SE · trim

Before restoration — 2015 Ford Escape SE · trim — B-pillar and mirror caps chalked out under the summer sun.

After restoration — 2015 Ford Escape SE · trim — Spot-resurfaced where it counts, satin black restored without overcoating paint.

Surgical pass — only the B-pillar and mirror caps needed it; we masked the surrounding paint and stayed inside the plastic lines. Trims came back to a true satin black without the cheap tire-dressing shine.

Satin-black trim finish, sealed under the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

09

Trim

2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn · trim

Before restoration — 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn · trim — Bed-side trim and tailgate handle gray from the work-truck rotation.

After restoration — 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn · trim — Uniform satin black across all bed-side plastic + the tailgate handle.

Fleet-adjacent work truck; we hit the bed-side trim, the tailgate handle, and the rear bumper plastic in one pass. Owner was pairing this with a fresh wax and the contrast now reads brand new.

Satin-black trim finish, sealed under the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

10

Trim

2006 BMW X3 · trim

Before restoration — 2006 BMW X3 · trim — Lower rocker trim and rear wheel-arch plastic chalked to a flat gray.

After restoration — 2006 BMW X3 · trim — Restored satin black + a clear-coat seal good for the full warranty year.

Classic X3 trim chalking — lower rockers and rear arches gray, paint itself still sharp. We deep-cleaned the plastic first so the resurfacing agent could bond, then sealed the result with the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

Satin-black trim finish, sealed under the same UV clear coat used on the headlights.

Why the results hold

The polish gets the lens back. The clear coat keeps it there.

Six steps at the curb — graduated sand progression, compounding, fine polish, clear coat, photos, warranty — and the same UV-stable seal goes on trim to lock the satin black back in place. Every pair on this page comes with the full year warranty and the receipt + photo record emailed the same day.

Graduated sand stack · no shortcuts
UV-stable 1-year clear coat
Same-day before / after photos
Joplin metro · Four States route

Ready when you are

Have a lens or a trim piece you want back to right? Send a request with the vehicle and the address — the crew replies with a flat quote and an arrival window.

Email restore@ratcave.com Send a request

Saw the result you want?

Pick a pair. Book the curb visit.

Tell us your vehicle and which service you want — headlight, trim, or the combo visit. We confirm a flat quote and an arrival window — most appointments schedule inside a week.

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Joplin metro · Four States region · Mobile service