Clean a Photo Portrait

Most substances can be cleaned from a photo. With these steps, you'll preserve your memories.

Steps

Find out what the finish is on the photo. Some professional portrait studios spray photos with a lacquer-based finish. If you have this type of photo, it would be best to take the photo to a professional to clean it because the lacquer finish should be reapplied after cleaning. You can remove the finish yourself with paint thinner or lacquer thinner using the instructions below, but the result will be nothing like the original professional finish.
If the photo does not have a lacquer finish, use a cotton swab with distilled water first to try to remove the marks. Don't rub hard! Gently swirl the area with the wet cotton swab. If you rub too hard you can remove the emulsion and ruin your photo. If water doesn't work, try rubbing alcohol, then as a last resort ammonia. When the photo gets wet, it will slightly raise and change color; it will return to normal after it dries.

If you get small spot on the photo wet what does it do? If it raises and turns slightly pink, it has no professional lacquer finish. If the water beads up it does have a professional finish. This finish is very similar to the sealant put on furniture, it can be matte, semi-matte or glossy so it can be difficult to detect just by looking.