Do I need to scan creased classic car photos?

A flat scan is best, but a phone photo of the creased car photo works too; run Photo-of-a-Photo Fixer first to crop and remove glare, then repair the creasing.

How many credits does a creased car photo take?

The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of creased classic car photos. Pro and Max return more detail on the chrome trim, the badge and the license plate where the creasing was heavy; see pricing for the current amounts.

Can I colorize the car photo after fixing the creasing?

Yes. Repair the creased car photo first, then run the Photo Colorizer on the result. Colors are inferred from the era and the materials in the repaired creased classic car photos, so type any remembered colors into the hints field.

What if the creasing took part of the car photo away entirely?

Run Missing Parts Filler after Scratch & Tear Repair and describe the gap the creasing left in the car photo. It continues the scene, clothing and background of the car photo from what survives; a face fully gone from creased classic car photos cannot be recovered, only inferred.

Classic Car Photos

Creased Classic Car Photos

Classic car photos showing a white line where the emulsion broke along the fold, very often straight through a face have almost always met a print folded into a wallet, a letter or a pocket, then flattened again decades later. The creasing sits on top of the image of a proud owner leaning on the fender, usually in the driveway, which is still there underneath.

Nothing in the car photo is redrawn for effect; the creasing is treated as a layer to remove and the image of a proud owner leaning on the fender, usually in the driveway as the thing to keep. If the creased area covered the chrome trim, the badge and the license plate, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.

Start with Scratch & Tear Repair on the creased car photo, then chain Face Restoration or the upscaler in the Studio if the classic car photos need it. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard run on creased classic car photos.

Open with these settings Scratch & Tear Repair

Creased Classic Car Photos, the original print

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

Small faces of a proud owner leaning on the fender, usually in the driveway that the creasing has taken the detail from
Creased classic car photos that a copy shop refused to touch
A creased car photo needed for a memorial, an anniversary or a reprint
A white line where the emulsion broke along the fold, very often straight through a face, spread over a car photo

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the creasing
Scratch & Tear Repair targets a white line where the emulsion broke along the fold, very often straight through a face while keeping the chrome trim, the badge and the license plate in the car photo untouched.
Scratch & Tear Repair
02
Repair the rest of the car photo
Unblur Old Photos addresses the usual wear on classic car photos, chrome that reads as blown white, a magenta shift over the paintwork and scratches across the hood, once the creasing is gone.
Unblur Old Photos
03
Sharpen the faces of a proud owner leaning on the fender, usually in the driveway
Recovers the eye and skin detail the creasing softened; keep it at natural strength on classic car photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the car photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the creasing repair, with the shape of the creased classic car photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler