Yep, this seems to be the process allright ! I use it quite often. I first read about it in a Photoshop book a very long time ago (about 6 years or so) and experimented with it until I got some decent results in print. In the mean time, I've refined this technique somewhat (a colleague -absolute expert PS user- has given me some pointers). If I have some time, I'll write it all down and make it available. By the way, If you understand the digital processes behind this technique, you can develop quite sophisticated (and spectacular) "remove grain / noise" actions. I'm in the process of writing down some of my techniques for a friend of mine. So, when I'm finished, I'll pass those on to the forum mods...