Remove Scratches from Photos
Remove scratches, dust spots and fine cracks from a scanned photo. Detect them automatically, correct the mask with a brush, then fill them in.
- Automatic scratch detection
- Brush to correct the mask
- Undo, redo and zoom
Classic image processing Scratches are filled by inpainting, a classic image-processing method that continues the surrounding pixels into the marked lines. It is not generative AI.
Choose a photo
Before
After
Remove Scratches workspace
Drop your photo here
or choose a file · on a phone you can take a photo or pick one from your gallery
Mark scratches (optional)
Leave the mask empty to detect scratches automatically, press Detect scratches to see and correct what is found, or paint lines yourself.
No mask: scratches will be detected automatically.
Filled-in areas are estimates made from the surrounding pixels. They can look plausible without matching what was really there.
Ready
Working
Preparing your photo…
- Uploading
- Waiting in line
- Processing
- Loading the result
Most photos take under a minute. Larger photos and busy times take longer.
Finished
Compare the result
Drag the divider or use the arrow keys to compare. Zoom in to check fine detail; when zoomed, drag the picture or use the arrow keys on it to move around.
That did not work
What to expect
- Best for thin lines and small spots. Wide tears are better handled by Repair Damaged Photo.
- Automatic detection can miss faint scratches or mark fine real detail such as hair; check the mask before you run it.
- Filled-in areas are estimates made from the surrounding pixels. They can look plausible without matching what was really there.
Your photo is processed on a2z.tools servers. No third-party AI provider receives it, it is not used for training, and the upload and result are deleted automatically 60 minutes after processing finishes.
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What Remove Scratches from Photo does
Scratches and dust are the most common damage on scanned prints. They are thin, so the pixels on either side usually still show what should be underneath. This tool finds those marks, lets you check them, and fills each one from its surroundings.
Detect, check, then fill
Detect scratches runs a separate short job that returns a mask: white where a thin line or spot stands out from the area around it. The mask appears over your photo in red so you can see exactly what will be changed. You can paint extra marks, erase anything that is real detail, undo and redo, and zoom in to work on small areas. Nothing is filled until you press Process photo.
When you process the photo, every marked pixel is filled by inpainting. Navier-Stokes inpainting follows the direction of nearby edges and suits long, thin scratches; Telea inpainting spreads colour inward from the edge of each mark and suits small spots. The fill radius controls how far around each mark the method looks for colour.
Why check the mask
The detector cannot tell a scratch from a thin real line, such as a strand of hair or the edge of a window frame. Removing those makes a photo look smoothed. A minute spent erasing wrong marks usually matters more than any other setting.
When to use it
- Hairline scratches across a scanned print or negative.
- White dust specks left by a flatbed scanner.
- Fine cracks in the emulsion of an old photo, where the rest of the picture is intact.
How to use it
- Open the page and choose or drop a scanned photo.
- Press Detect scratches to see what the automatic detector finds, or paint over scratches yourself.
- Zoom in and correct the red mask: paint missed lines with the brush and erase marks on real detail.
- Choose the fill method and radius under Advanced if the defaults leave traces.
- Process the photo, compare before and after at 2x or 4x, then download it.
Limitations
- Wide tears and large missing areas fill poorly; use Repair Damaged Photo and keep marks as small as possible.
- Scratches that cross faces, eyes or text can leave visible smudges, because the fill only continues nearby pixels.
- Automatic detection may flag fine real detail such as hair, grass or fabric weave.
- An empty mask means automatic detection runs when you process the photo.
Privacy
Your photo is processed on a2z.tools servers. It is not sent to any third-party AI provider and is not used for training. The upload, any mask you draw and the result are deleted automatically about 60 minutes after processing finishes, and straight away if processing fails or is cancelled. Results are returned only to the browser session that uploaded the photo.
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Key facts
- Automatic scratch and dust detection with an adjustable sensitivity.
- Detected scratches are shown as a red mask you can correct with a brush and eraser before filling.
- Undo and redo, zoom and pan, including pinch zoom on touch screens.
- Fills marks with Navier-Stokes or Telea inpainting, classic methods rather than generative AI.
- Filled lines are estimates from the surrounding pixels.
How to use it
- Open the page and choose or drop a scanned photo.
- Press Detect scratches to see what the automatic detector finds, or paint over scratches yourself.
- Zoom in and correct the red mask: paint missed lines with the brush and erase marks on real detail.
- Choose the fill method and radius under Advanced if the defaults leave traces.
- Process the photo, compare before and after at 2x or 4x, then download it.
Frequently asked questions
How does automatic scratch detection decide what is a scratch?
It looks for thin lines and small spots that are much brighter or darker than the pixels around them. The sensitivity slider sets how strong that difference has to be. Higher sensitivity finds fainter scratches but also marks more real detail.
Do I have to draw a mask?
No. If the mask is empty when you process the photo, scratches are detected and filled automatically. Drawing or correcting the mask is optional, but it gives you control over exactly which pixels change.
Can I undo a brush stroke?
Yes. Use the undo and redo buttons or press Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y. The editor keeps the last 40 changes, including clearing the mask and loading detected scratches.
What is the difference between Telea and Navier-Stokes?
Both are classic inpainting methods. Navier-Stokes continues the direction of nearby edges into the gap, which works well for long scratches. Telea fills from the edge of the mark inward and often looks cleaner on small round spots. Try the other one if a fill looks streaky.
Why does a filled scratch look slightly blurred?
The fill is an estimate built from nearby pixels, so fine texture inside the scratch cannot be recovered exactly. Keeping the mask narrow, just covering the scratch, and lowering the fill radius usually reduces the soft look.
Should I remove scratches before or after denoising?
Before. Grain can hide faint scratches from the detector, and noise reduction can smear them into soft lines that are harder to fill. Clean the scratches first, then continue to Denoise Photo.
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