Is there an easier way to extracting texture information without ruining the texture?

JordanN

I want to paint some props I have in Mudbox and for some textures, there's too much background noise.

For example, the rust in this photo is great, but I don't want the green paint with it. 



I've tried using blend layers, changing the hue but it just doesn't blend well or it makes the albedo look unrealistic.

I've also used the color range in photoshop and while it gets close, it doesn't remove all the background color and the texture starts forming unrealistic shapes which I don't want when I start painting with it.

JordanN

Can you explain more how this works?

Do you mean under Adjustments > Curve, when I isolate the green channel and change it, it makes the colors wildly saturated and different.

JordanN

I repeated your settings but mine still comes out more blotchy. 
I only sampled from the green and then hit delete or copy and pasted onto a new layer.

Edit: I switched to a higher resolution image and tried selecting just the brown and it came out better.