Repair damaged photos — scratches, tears, stains
Faithful, archival-grade AI restoration that targets damage without changing the character of the photo. Ideal for heritage photos, family albums, and important documents.
Conservative Restoration · 10 credits ($1.00) per photo
How it works
From upload to download in three simple steps.
1. Upload
Upload a JPG, PNG or WebP up to 10 MB. The clearer the original scan, the better the result.
2. AI processes
Our AI analyses your photo and applies the appropriate model. Most jobs finish in under a minute.
3. Download
Compare before / after, then download the high-resolution result. Your originals are never used to train AI models.
See the difference
Drag the slider to wipe between original and result.
Tears mended · stains lifted · tone preserved
Why "Conservative Restoration" is different
Most AI photo enhancers try to make every photo look brighter, sharper, and more vibrant — which is great for casual snapshots but wrong for heritage and archival photographs. A technically faithful restoration repairs damage while leaving the original character intact: the lighting, the contrast, the gentle softness of an old lens, the period feel.
Photo Repair Lab's Conservative Restoration is deliberately restrained. It removes scratches, dust, tears, and stains. It corrects fading. It does not invent new detail, oversharpen, or apply automatic colour correction. The result is the photo as it would have looked the day it was developed — nothing more, nothing less. If you care about authenticity, this is the mode for you.
Types of damage we repair
Surface damage: scratches, scuffs, fingerprints, dust spots, lint, foxing.
Structural damage: tears, missing corners, fold lines, light creasing.
Liquid damage: water stains, coffee/tea rings, ink spots, mild mould marks.
Age damage: fading, yellowing, sepia drift, sun-bleaching, edge browning.
For severe damage — large missing pieces, complete face loss, or heavy mould — manual restoration is still the gold standard. AI can dramatically improve the photo but cannot reconstruct content that no longer exists.
Frequently asked questions
Complete the project
Restoration is usually step one. Here’s what most people do next.