diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs b/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
index a2d715f..4865028 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@ public class MatchManager : MonoBehaviour
     // client every time. An independent System.Random decouples the pick from that shared global state.
     private readonly System.Random _roleRng = new System.Random(System.Guid.NewGuid().GetHashCode());
 
+    // Painting carry across an avatar respawn (scene switch). Per-machine: the LOCAL owner's painting,
+    // parked here by its despawning PlayerPaintSync (that component is gone before the replacement spawns)
+    // and consumed once by the next owner avatar. This manager is persistent in Main, so it bridges the
+    // despawn->spawn gap. Cleared on teardown (ReturnToMainOnly) so a fresh session never inherits a
+    // previous one's painting; a normal respawn keeps Main loaded, so the parked copy survives it.
+    private byte[] _carriedPaint;
+
     private void Awake()
     {
         if (Instance && Instance != this) { Destroy(this); return; }
@@ -381,6 +388,10 @@ public class MatchManager : MonoBehaviour
     // active gameplay scene is unloaded, otherwise Unity has no valid active scene to fall back to.
     private void ReturnToMainOnly()
     {
+        // A real disconnect/shutdown is not a respawn: drop any parked painting so a fresh session
+        // (re-host / reconnect) never restores a previous match's painting onto its first avatar.
+        _carriedPaint = null;
+
         Scene main = SceneManager.GetSceneByName(mainSceneName);
         if (main.IsValid() && main.isLoaded) SceneManager.SetActiveScene(main);
 
@@ -400,4 +411,15 @@ public class MatchManager : MonoBehaviour
         if (s.IsValid() && s.isLoaded && s != SceneManager.GetActiveScene())
             SceneManager.UnloadSceneAsync(s);
     }
+
+    /// <summary>Owner-side: park the local painting so the avatar a scene switch spawns next can restore it.</summary>
+    public void StoreCarriedPaint(byte[] data) => _carriedPaint = data;
+
+    /// <summary>Owner-side: take (and clear) the parked painting for the freshly spawned avatar, or null if none.</summary>
+    public byte[] TakeCarriedPaint()
+    {
+        byte[] d = _carriedPaint;
+        _carriedPaint = null;
+        return d;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/MeshPainter.Net.cs b/Assets/Scripts/MeshPainter.Net.cs
index 0a6759e..d716aee 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/MeshPainter.Net.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/MeshPainter.Net.cs
@@ -238,6 +238,31 @@ public partial class MeshPainter
         SetHistoryBaseline(canonical, baselineId);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Owner-side: re-seeds the painter from an in-memory snapshot blob and resets history to it as a fresh
+    /// local baseline - exactly like <see cref="LoadPaintByName"/> does for a file, just from bytes. Used to
+    /// carry a painting onto a freshly spawned avatar across a scene-switch respawn; the caller then
+    /// BroadcastLoadedPaint()s it to peers via the same path a manual load uses. Returns false if the painter
+    /// is not ready or the blob is missing / incompatible (the current painting is left untouched).
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool LoadPaintFromSnapshot(byte[] compressed)
+    {
+        if (!_setupValid || compressed == null || compressed.Length == 0) return false;
+
+        Color32[][] canonical;
+        try { canonical = DecodeSnapshot(compressed); }
+        catch (System.Exception e)
+        {
+            Debug.LogWarning($"[MeshPainter] Carry snapshot decode failed: {e.Message}", this);
+            return false;
+        }
+        if (canonical == null) return false;
+
+        ReseedCanonical(canonical);
+        ResetHistoryToCurrent(canonical);
+        return true;
+    }
+
     private Color32[][] DecodeSnapshot(byte[] compressed)
     {
         byte[] raw = Inflate(compressed);
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/PlayerPaintSync.cs b/Assets/Scripts/PlayerPaintSync.cs
index 1dea744..17c6f97 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/PlayerPaintSync.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/PlayerPaintSync.cs
@@ -27,6 +27,15 @@ using UnityEngine;
 /// sequence - so no stroke is lost or double-applied across the join window. The applied snapshot also
 /// becomes the joiner's history baseline.
 ///
+/// Respawn carry: a scene switch (lobby &lt;-&gt; map) despawns the avatar and spawns a new prefab, which
+/// would otherwise start blank. On despawn the owner parks a snapshot of its painting on the persistent
+/// MatchManager; the replacement avatar's owner takes it on spawn and, once its painter is ready, loads it
+/// and BroadcastLoadedPaint()s it - the exact path a manual load uses - so the painting follows the player
+/// across the respawn for every peer. A real disconnect clears the parked copy, so sessions don't bleed.
+/// On respawn this carry-broadcast and the replica's own late-join request both deliver a full snapshot at
+/// once, so transfers are id-tagged (only the active one reassembles/applies) and cutoff-ordered (an older
+/// snapshot never overwrites a newer one) - otherwise the two would share a buffer and decode corrupted.
+///
 /// Emission intensity is the one paint property that is NOT baked into the maps (it's a global
 /// multiplier on the material's _EmissionColor), so it can't ride the stamp/snapshot path. It rides its
 /// own owner-authoritative NetworkVariable; the remote painter's per-frame RefreshEmissionColor picks up
@@ -98,6 +107,22 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
     private bool _snapReadyToApply;          // last chunk arrived; apply once the painter is ready
     private readonly List<NetEvent> _buffered = new List<NetEvent>();
 
+    // A scene-switch respawn delivers TWO full snapshots to the same replica at once: this replica's own
+    // late-join RequestSnapshotRpc AND the owner's carry BroadcastLoadedPaint. Without isolation they share
+    // one reassembly buffer and one End() trigger, so a half-filled/mixed Deflate blob gets decoded -> the
+    // "Corrupted data" warning, paint never applies. Each outgoing transfer carries a unique id; only the
+    // active one fills the buffer and applies, and a stale chunk/End from a superseded transfer is ignored.
+    private int _activeXferId;
+    // Highest snapshot cutoff accepted so far. A transfer carrying OLDER state is dropped, so a late blank
+    // late-join (server replica still empty at capture) can't overwrite the newer carry. Equal is accepted
+    // so the owner-snapshot heal path (same cutoff, but the diverged peer genuinely needs it) still works.
+    private int _acceptedCutoffFloor = int.MinValue;
+
+    // Owner-only: painting carried over from the avatar a scene switch just despawned (taken from the
+    // persistent MatchManager on spawn). Applied in LateUpdate once this fresh painter is ready, then
+    // rebroadcast to peers via the same path a manual load uses. Null = nothing to carry.
+    private byte[] _pendingCarry;
+
     private void Awake() => _painter = GetComponentInChildren<MeshPainter>(true);
 
     public override void OnNetworkSpawn()
@@ -110,6 +135,10 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
             _painter.OnStampCommitted += OnStampCommitted;
             _painter.OnHistoryCheckpoint += OnLocalCheckpoint;
             _painter.OnHistoryRestore += OnLocalRestore;
+
+            // Carry the painting from the avatar a scene switch just despawned (if any) onto this fresh one.
+            // Applied in LateUpdate once the painter has finished setup, then broadcast to peers.
+            if (MatchManager.Instance) _pendingCarry = MatchManager.Instance.TakeCarriedPaint();
         }
         else
         {
@@ -135,6 +164,12 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
     {
         if (_painter && IsOwner)
         {
+            // Park the current painting so the avatar this scene switch spawns next can restore it. A real
+            // disconnect clears the parked copy (MatchManager.ReturnToMainOnly), so a fresh session never
+            // inherits it. Captured here, the latest possible point, so last-second strokes are included.
+            if (MatchManager.Instance && _painter.TryCaptureSnapshot(out byte[] snap))
+                MatchManager.Instance.StoreCarriedPaint(snap);
+
             _painter.OnStampCommitted -= OnStampCommitted;
             _painter.OnHistoryCheckpoint -= OnLocalCheckpoint;
             _painter.OnHistoryRestore -= OnLocalRestore;
@@ -189,6 +224,20 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
         if (!IsOwner)
             return;
 
+        // Restore a carried-over painting onto this fresh avatar once the painter is ready, then propagate
+        // it to peers exactly like a manual load (BroadcastLoadedPaint). One-shot: cleared whether or not it
+        // took, so a failed/empty carry never retries every frame.
+        if (_pendingCarry != null && _painter && _painter.IsPaintReady)
+        {
+            byte[] carry = _pendingCarry;
+            _pendingCarry = null;
+            if (_painter.LoadPaintFromSnapshot(carry))
+            {
+                LogSync($"carried painting onto respawned avatar ({carry.Length} bytes); rebroadcasting to peers");
+                BroadcastLoadedPaint();
+            }
+        }
+
         // Publish the owner's global emission intensity when the HUD slider changes it (delta-only; the
         // NetworkVariable dirties only on an actual change, so assigning the same value is a no-op).
         if (_painter && _emissionIntensity.Value != _painter.emissionIntensity)
@@ -423,11 +472,16 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
         StartCoroutine(SendSnapshot(new[] { p.Receive.SenderClientId }, data, capturedSeq, baselineId));
     }
 
+    // Server-side monotonic id stamped on each outgoing snapshot transfer, so a replica that receives two
+    // overlapping transfers (respawn: its late-join + the owner's carry) can tell them apart and isolate them.
+    private int _xferOut;
+
     private IEnumerator SendSnapshot(ulong[] targets, byte[] data, int capturedSeq, int baselineId)
     {
         var send = new ClientRpcParams { Send = new ClientRpcSendParams { TargetClientIds = targets } };
+        int xferId = ++_xferOut;
 
-        BeginSnapshotClientRpc(data.Length, capturedSeq, baselineId, send);
+        BeginSnapshotClientRpc(xferId, data.Length, capturedSeq, baselineId, send);
 
         int sentThisFrame = 0;
         for (int off = 0; off < data.Length; off += snapshotChunkBytes)
@@ -435,7 +489,7 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
             int len = Mathf.Min(snapshotChunkBytes, data.Length - off);
             var chunk = new byte[len];
             System.Array.Copy(data, off, chunk, 0, len);
-            SnapshotChunkClientRpc(off, chunk, send);
+            SnapshotChunkClientRpc(xferId, off, chunk, send);
 
             if (++sentThisFrame >= snapshotChunksPerFrame)
             {
@@ -444,31 +498,42 @@ public class PlayerPaintSync : NetworkBehaviour
             }
         }
 
-        EndSnapshotClientRpc(send);
+        EndSnapshotClientRpc(xferId, send);
     }
 
     [ClientRpc]
-    private void BeginSnapshotClientRpc(int totalBytes, int capturedSeq, int baselineId, ClientRpcParams p = default)
+    private void BeginSnapshotClientRpc(int xferId, int totalBytes, int capturedSeq, int baselineId, ClientRpcParams p = default)
     {
+        // Drop a transfer that carries older state than one already accepted/applied (a late blank late-join
+        // racing the carry). Equal cutoff is allowed so the owner-snapshot heal still lands.
+        if (capturedSeq < _acceptedCutoffFloor)
+        {
+            LogSync($"ignoring stale snapshot #{xferId} (cutoff {capturedSeq} < accepted {_acceptedCutoffFloor})");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _acceptedCutoffFloor = capturedSeq;
+        _activeXferId = xferId;
         _snapBuffer = new byte[totalBytes];
         _snapCapturedSeq = capturedSeq;
         _snapBaselineId = baselineId;
         _snapReadyToApply = false;
         _awaitingSnapshot = true;
-        LogSync($"receiving snapshot ({totalBytes} bytes, cutoff {capturedSeq}, baseline {baselineId})");
+        LogSync($"receiving snapshot #{xferId} ({totalBytes} bytes, cutoff {capturedSeq}, baseline {baselineId})");
     }
 
     [ClientRpc]
-    private void SnapshotChunkClientRpc(int offset, byte[] chunk, ClientRpcParams p = default)
+    private void SnapshotChunkClientRpc(int xferId, int offset, byte[] chunk, ClientRpcParams p = default)
     {
-        if (_snapBuffer == null) return;
+        if (xferId != _activeXferId || _snapBuffer == null) return; // stale chunk from a superseded transfer
         if (offset >= 0 && offset + chunk.Length <= _snapBuffer.Length)
             System.Array.Copy(chunk, 0, _snapBuffer, offset, chunk.Length);
     }
 
     [ClientRpc]
-    private void EndSnapshotClientRpc(ClientRpcParams p = default)
+    private void EndSnapshotClientRpc(int xferId, ClientRpcParams p = default)
     {
+        if (xferId != _activeXferId) return; // stale End from a superseded transfer; the active one still owns the buffer
         // Apply happens in LateUpdate (once the painter is ready) so apply + buffered replay stay ordered.
         _snapReadyToApply = _snapBuffer != null;
         if (!_snapReadyToApply)