Which tool do I use for staining?

Stain & Spot Remover first. If the stained print also has fading, blur or small faces, chain Faded Photo Fixer, Unblur Old Photos or Face Restoration in the Studio on the result.

How much does fixing a stained photo cost?

A new account has 4 free credits, enough for one Standard run on a stained print. Pro and Max use more credits and recover more texture under the staining; the pricing page has the current numbers.

Can I colorize a photo after repairing the staining?

Yes, and the order matters: repair the stained print first, then colorize the clean result so the inferred colors are not confused by brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky.

Damage

Fix stained photos

Q: What causes staining on old photos?

Usually coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day. Once you see brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky, move the print somewhere cool, dry and dark and scan it before it gets worse.

Staining is one of the most common reasons a print reaches this site, and the cause is usually coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day. Look closely at a stained print and you will see brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky.

The AI-powered repair for stained photographs treats brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky as something to remove, not something to paint over. Faces the staining destroyed come back as plausible reconstructions, so compare them with other photographs of the same people.

Below are the subjects people most often bring in stained: each page describes what staining does to that kind of print and the order of tools to run. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard pass at staining.

Open with these settings Stain & Spot Remover

OriginalRestored

Original on the left, restored on the right; hover to see more of the repair. Made in the Studio from a scan of the print.

What matters for these photos

Brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky
Staining caused by coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day
Faces and clothing under the staining that need rebuilding from what survives
Stained prints that are the only copy in the family

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the staining
Stain & Spot Remover is written for brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky and rebuilds the area beneath from the surrounding image.
Stain & Spot Remover
02
Run a full restoration on the stained print
Picks up the fading, scratches and softness that usually travel with staining.
Photo Restoration
03
Restore the faces
Recovers eye and skin detail where the staining had softened it; use strong only for tiny faces.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale for reprinting
Adds the pixels a reprint of the stained photo needs, with the shape of the upload unchanged.
Image Upscaler