diff --git a/Controls/PreviewPane.xaml b/Controls/PreviewPane.xaml
index 28d91b5..1f36bdf 100644
--- a/Controls/PreviewPane.xaml
+++ b/Controls/PreviewPane.xaml
@@ -316,26 +316,6 @@
                                                  HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Margin="0,0,-13,-13"/>
                                     </Grid>
 
-                                    <ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding DimRects}" IsHitTestVisible="False">
-                                        <ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
-                                            <ItemsPanelTemplate>
-                                                <Canvas/>
-                                            </ItemsPanelTemplate>
-                                        </ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
-                                        <ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
-                                            <Style TargetType="ContentPresenter">
-                                                <Setter Property="Canvas.Left" Value="{Binding X}"/>
-                                                <Setter Property="Canvas.Top" Value="{Binding Y}"/>
-                                            </Style>
-                                        </ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
-                                        <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
-                                            <DataTemplate>
-                                                <Rectangle Width="{Binding Width}" Height="{Binding Height}"
-                                                           Fill="#000000" Opacity="0.55"/>
-                                            </DataTemplate>
-                                        </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
-                                    </ItemsControl>
-
                                     <Rectangle IsHitTestVisible="False" Stroke="#e94560" StrokeThickness="3"
                                                Canvas.Left="{Binding OutputRectX}" Canvas.Top="{Binding OutputRectY}"
                                                Width="{Binding OutputRectWidth}" Height="{Binding OutputRectHeight}"
@@ -410,6 +390,33 @@
                                  </Canvas>
                             </Grid>
 
+                            <!-- The zoom dims: preview chrome ONLY — a SIBLING of CanvasGrid,
+                                 never a descendant — so the zoom box's VisualBrush sample of
+                                 CanvasGrid can never pick up the dim shading. The box must show
+                                 the captured area clean at all times, even when dragged over the
+                                 dims (creator ruling 2026-10-08). Renders above the composed
+                                 content (dims the whole scene outside the box incl. the global
+                                 overlays) and below the ZoomBox. -->
+                            <ItemsControl x:Name="DimRectsLayer" ItemsSource="{Binding DimRects}" IsHitTestVisible="False">
+                                <ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
+                                    <ItemsPanelTemplate>
+                                        <Canvas/>
+                                    </ItemsPanelTemplate>
+                                </ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
+                                <ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
+                                    <Style TargetType="ContentPresenter">
+                                        <Setter Property="Canvas.Left" Value="{Binding X}"/>
+                                        <Setter Property="Canvas.Top" Value="{Binding Y}"/>
+                                    </Style>
+                                </ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
+                                <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
+                                    <DataTemplate>
+                                        <Rectangle Width="{Binding Width}" Height="{Binding Height}"
+                                                   Fill="#000000" Opacity="0.55"/>
+                                    </DataTemplate>
+                                </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
+                            </ItemsControl>
+
                             <!-- The zoom box: layer n+1 — a SIBLING of CanvasGrid (not a
                                  descendant), so its VisualBrush can sample the whole
                                  composed preview (CanvasGrid = backdrop + every element
diff --git a/HANDOFF.md b/HANDOFF.md
index 829cbd0..8ba7c47 100644
--- a/HANDOFF.md
+++ b/HANDOFF.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# HANDOFF — 2026-10-08 (zoom rework)
+# HANDOFF — 2026-10-08 (zoom rework + dims-shading fix)
 
 ## Branch
 - main (no feature branch)
@@ -9,51 +9,41 @@
 - `Controls/LeftPanel.xaml` (pinned-message UI)
 - Untracked: `Helpers/RelayCommandGeneric.cs`
 
-## What just happened (2026-10-08, second zoom pass — creator correction)
-The zoom box shipped in `4b3d82f` was a **loupe** (box follows its own content, built from the
-backdrop only, slotted at z-index 1). The creator corrected it; the model is now:
+## What just happened (2026-10-08, third zoom pass — dims shading)
+The zoom box shipped as a **loupe** (`4b3d82f`), then was corrected to an **anchored-capture
+magnifier over the full composite drawn last** (commit `6bff21b`). The final correction: as the box
+is dragged, the dim rectangles (55% black "div shading" around the box) were sliding under the
+capture region — shown inside the box because its `VisualBrush` samples all of `CanvasGrid`, and the
+`DimRects` ItemsControl previously lived INSIDE `CanvasGrid`.
 
-- **Anchored capture, not a loupe.** Right-clicking the live preview fixes a **capture window** —
-  the box/2 region centred on the click (`CaptureX/Y`, clamped to the master) — and parks a movable
-  **2x magnifier** box. The box is a **live, always-on 2x view of that captured region**; dragging the
-  box relocates it, **`UpdateZoomMove` never touches the capture** (creator ruling).
-- **Content = every layer.** The zoom pass runs on the **already-composited frame** (backdrop + all
-  elements), so the magnified webcam/square/layers all show in the box. `SceneCompositor` skips the
-  active `ZoomSceneElement` in every layer loop and `BlitZoom`s it **LAST (layer n+1, on top of
-  everything)** via the pure static `ZoomMagnifier` (2x bilinear, 8.8 fixed-point, temp snapshot via
-  `ArrayPool` so a box overlapping its own source never recurses, optional round clip).
-- **Rectangle = 4:3** ("more of a 640x480 aspect ratio"); Circle = square, Phone = 9:16 (kept).
-
-Changes in this pass: new `Services/Compositor/ZoomMagnifier.cs`; `ZoomSceneElement`/`ZoomState`
-gained `CaptureX`/`CaptureY`; `MainViewModel.Zoom.cs` rewritten (`BuildZoomFrame`/`ZoomFrameBuilder`
-and the zoom-as-crop resolver case removed — no per-frame builder/cache anymore);
-`PreviewPane.xaml`: `ZoomBox` hoisted OUT of `OverlayCanvas` to be a **sibling of `CanvasGrid`**
-(renders above everything in the preview); `PreviewPane.xaml.cs` `UpdateZoomBox` samples `CanvasGrid`
-(the whole composed preview) at the fixed capture, `Stretch=Fill`. `ZoomFrameBuilderTests.cs` deleted
-(superseded); new `ZoomMagnifierTests.cs` (the "box over blue shows green capture, at 2x, all layers"
-proof + round-clip); `ZoomBoxInteractionTests.cs` rewritten (per-shape 4:3/9:16/square + capture
-anchor centred on the click + move-moves-only-the-box assertion + corner-clamp).
+Fix: the `DimRects` overlay is now a **sibling of `CanvasGrid`** (renders above the composed
+content, below the `ZoomBox`), never a descendant — so the zoom sample can never pick up the shading
+and the captured area stays clear no matter where the box is dragged. Behavior consequence to note:
+in non-zoom ("quality dims") mode the dims now also shade the global overlays (brand flash, alert
+ticker, social bar) that sit above them in the old tree — consistent with "chrome outside the crop
+is dimmed". Structural invariant added to `ZoomBoxInteractionTests`: `DimRectsLayer` is a direct
+child of `PreviewCanvas`, not inside `CanvasGrid`, and renders below the `ZoomBox`.
 
 ## Zoom feature state
 - Models: `ZoomState.cs`, `ZoomShape.cs` (Circle/VerticalRectangle/HorizontalRectangle), `ZoomSceneElement.cs`.
 - ViewModel (`MainViewModel.Zoom.cs`): `ActivateZoom`/`ToggleZoom`/`DismissZoom`/`StartZoomMove`/`UpdateZoomMove`/`EndZoomMove` + `RebuildDimRectsForZoom`; transient element healed/mirrored by `HealZoomLayers`/`EnsureZoomLayer`.
 - Output: box composited last via `BlitZoom`/`ZoomMagnifier`; output crop = tier (box never the crop).
-- Preview: `ZoomBox` = sibling above `CanvasGrid`, samples the full composite at the fixed capture, 2x; circle→ellipse clip, rect/square outline per shape; `LeftPanel` hides the placeholder row via `IsZoomLayer`.
+- Preview: `ZoomBox` + `DimRectsLayer` are both SIBLINGS of `CanvasGrid` (box above dims above content); box samples the full composite at the fixed capture, 2x; circle→ellipse clip, rect/square outline per shape; `LeftPanel` hides the placeholder row via `IsZoomLayer`.
+- Rectangle shape = 4:3; Circle square; Phone 9:16. Capture anchored on click (`CaptureX/Y`); dragging the box never changes it.
 
 ## Tests
-- Full suite: **404 passed / 2 failed** (both = known pre-existing environment flakes, unrelated to
-  zoom): `AudioPipelineTests.Mix_HonorsProviderGains_AndGameMute_KillsTheLoopback` (audio timing)
-  and `LayerReorderPersistenceTests.RealMouseDrag_OnTheLayerList_PersistsTheReorder` (needs
-  interactive desktop). Zoom tests 3/3 green, 0 build warnings.
+- Full suite: **406 passed / 0 failed** on a clean full run (the pre-existing audio-loopback timing
+  flake and `RealMouseDrag`'s interactive-desktop requirement recur occasionally — not zoom
+  regressions). Zoom tests 3/3 green, 0 build warnings.
 
 ## Known issues / follow-ups
 - **Background "Use default background" toggle still not working** (carried from 2026-10-07):
   binding exists (`UseDefaultBackground`), VM handler invalidates bake; investigate when time permits.
-- Preview shows editing chrome (dim rects, selection) inside the zoom box — accepted preview
-  artefact; the output only shows composed content.
+- The 3px selection / crop-outline strokes could still show in the zoom box IF the capture overlaps
+  them in edit mode — not shading, thin outlines only; the dims (the user's complaint) are gone.
 
 ## Next step
-- User runs the app live to eyeball the corrected zoom: right-click preview → anchored capture stays
-  fixed while the box is dragged; the box shows ALL layers at 2x on top of everything; rectangle box
-  is 4:3. Then TASK 51 (webcam background Remove + Blur) per `TASKS/task-51-webcam-bg-effects.md`,
-  and the background-toggle investigation if still open.
\ No newline at end of file
+- User runs the app live to eyeball: drag the zoom box anywhere and the captured content stays clean
+  (no dim shading in the box; the scene outside the box stays dimmed). Then TASK 51 (webcam
+  background Remove + Blur) per `TASKS/task-51-webcam-bg-effects.md`, and the background-toggle
+  investigation if still open.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ai.md b/ai.md
index 6c71060..1abdeb7 100644
--- a/ai.md
+++ b/ai.md
@@ -737,6 +737,11 @@ parallel software compositor** over the `VideoFrame` (BGRA8) seam, and the XAML
 renderers must agree: geometry, `UniformToFill` cover-crop, round clip, mirror, border, z-order. Preview
 stays XAML (editing view); the compositor is the output view.
 
+- **The `DimRects` shading is itself preview chrome, so it renders as a SIBLING of `CanvasGrid`
+  (above it, below the `ZoomBox`), never a descendant** (2026-10-08, creator ruling): the zoom box's
+  `VisualBrush` samples all of `CanvasGrid`, and if the dims were inside it the box would show the
+  dim shading — especially after the box is dragged away and the fixed capture slides under the dims.
+
 - **Render the active tier's output rect directly** (`CompositorOptions {SourceRectX/Y/W/H,
   OutputWidth, OutputHeight}`, fed from `MainViewModel.OutputRect*`): 16:9 = full 1920×1080 1:1; the
   vertical 9:16 tier = composite the centered 607×1080 crop then bilinear-upscale to 1080×1920.
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ZoomBoxInteractionTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ZoomBoxInteractionTests.cs
index f8582a3..2304937 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/ZoomBoxInteractionTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ZoomBoxInteractionTests.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,19 @@ public sealed class ZoomBoxInteractionTests
             Assert.Equal(Visibility.Visible, circleOutline.Visibility);
             Assert.Equal(Visibility.Collapsed, rectOutline.Visibility);
 
+            // The dims are preview chrome ABOVE the composed content (a sibling of
+            // CanvasGrid, below the ZoomBox) — never inside CanvasGrid — so the zoom
+            // box's sample of CanvasGrid can never pick up the dim shading, even when
+            // the zoom box is dragged so the capture slides under the dims.
+            var previewCanvas = (Canvas)pane.FindName("PreviewCanvas")!;
+            var canvasGrid = (Grid)pane.FindName("CanvasGrid")!;
+            var dimsLayer = (ItemsControl)pane.FindName("DimRectsLayer")!;
+            Assert.Equal(previewCanvas, VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(dimsLayer));
+            for (var parent = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(dimsLayer); parent != null; parent = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(parent))
+                Assert.False(ReferenceEquals(parent, canvasGrid), "the dims layer must not be inside CanvasGrid");
+            Assert.True(previewCanvas.Children.IndexOf(dimsLayer) < previewCanvas.Children.IndexOf(zoomBox),
+                "the dims must render below the zoom box, not above it");
+
             // Phone (vertical rectangle): tall 9:16 box; capture centred on the click.
             vm.ZoomShape = ZoomShape.VerticalRectangle;
             vm.ActivateZoom(960, 540);