diff --git a/dev/combat.test.mjs b/dev/combat.test.mjs
index b3f0bec..aceaa9b 100644
--- a/dev/combat.test.mjs
+++ b/dev/combat.test.mjs
@@ -887,6 +887,70 @@ const E = (k, d) => config.get(`combat.enemy.${k}`, d);
   check('waves/system: destroy clears the run', combat.waveRun === null);
 }
 
+// ------------------------------------------------- fx: white-flash integrity
+{
+  const { Fx } = await import(pathToFileURL(join(__dirname, '../js/combat/Fx.js')).href);
+  const fxScene = makeScene();
+  const fx = new Fx(fxScene);
+  // A craft with the real tint seams (the stub Sprite lacks setTintMode).
+  const craft = {
+    x: 100, y: 100, hitRadius: 12, tint: 16777215, tintMode: 0,
+    setTint(t) { this.tint = t; return this; },
+    setTintMode(m) { this.tintMode = m; return this; },
+  };
+  fx.craftFlash(craft, 120);
+  check('fx: the craft flash goes white (tintMode 1)', craft.tintMode === 1);
+  check('fx: the craft is tracked for the whiteness purge', fx.crafts.has(craft));
+
+  // OVERLAPPING HITS (the "turns white and stays white" bug): a second
+  // hit inside the flash window must EXTEND, never stack — a stacked
+  // item captures the in-flash state (mode 1) as its restore value.
+  fx.update(60);
+  fx.craftFlash(craft, 120);
+  check('fx: overlapping hits do not stack a second flash',
+    fx.items.filter((i) => i.kind === 'tintFlash').length === 1);
+  fx.update(200); // past the extended expiry
+  check('fx: after expiry the craft is back in normal colors (no white stick)',
+    craft.tintMode === 0 && craft.tint === 16777215);
+
+  // The kill seam settles the flash immediately.
+  fx.craftFlash(craft, 120);
+  fx.releaseCraft(craft);
+  check('fx: releaseCraft settles the flash at the kill seam',
+    craft.tintMode === 0 && fx.items.filter((i) => i.kind === 'tintFlash').length === 0);
+
+  // THE PERIODIC PURGE (the backstop): a stuck white craft is reset,
+  // a live flash is left alone, dead crafts are pruned.
+  craft.tintMode = 1; // simulate a leak no seam caught
+  fx.purgeCraftTints();
+  check('fx: the purge resets a stuck white craft', craft.tintMode === 0);
+  fx.craftFlash(craft, 400);
+  fx.purgeCraftTints();
+  check('fx: the purge leaves a live flash alone', craft.tintMode === 1);
+  fx.update(500); // expiry inside this step
+  check('fx: the live flash still restores itself on expiry', craft.tintMode === 0);
+  const dead = {
+    x: 0, y: 0, hitRadius: 10, tint: 16777215, tintMode: 0, destroyed: true,
+    setTint(t) { this.tint = t; return this; },
+    setTintMode(m) { this.tintMode = m; return this; },
+  };
+  fx.crafts.add(dead);
+  fx.purgeCraftTints();
+  check('fx: the purge prunes destroyed crafts (no leaked references)', !fx.crafts.has(dead));
+
+  // The roster callback (both contexts wire it): a craft that NEVER took
+  // a flash but somehow holds the white state is still re-asserted —
+  // the purge covers the whole pack, not just Fx's own flashes.
+  const straggler = {
+    x: 0, y: 0, tint: 16777215, tintMode: 1,
+    setTint(t) { this.tint = t; return this; },
+    setTintMode(m) { this.tintMode = m; return this; },
+  };
+  fx.purgeRoster = () => [straggler];
+  fx.purgeCraftTints();
+  check('fx: the purge covers the roster (not just tracked flashes)', straggler.tintMode === 0);
+}
+
 // ------------------------------------------------------------------ done
 
 console.log(failures === 0 ? '\ncombat rules: all checks passed' : `\n${failures} check(s) FAILED`);
diff --git a/dev/shots/combat-main.png b/dev/shots/combat-main.png
index dfc50ba..a735b98 100644
Binary files a/dev/shots/combat-main.png and b/dev/shots/combat-main.png differ
diff --git a/dev/shots/combat-range.png b/dev/shots/combat-range.png
index 8df4d0e..db5c89f 100644
Binary files a/dev/shots/combat-range.png and b/dev/shots/combat-range.png differ
diff --git a/js/combat/CombatScene.js b/js/combat/CombatScene.js
index 851a426..4d4e5c9 100644
--- a/js/combat/CombatScene.js
+++ b/js/combat/CombatScene.js
@@ -143,6 +143,11 @@ export class CombatScene extends Phaser.Scene {
 
     this.bullets = [];
     this.fx = new Fx(this);
+    // The whiteness-purge roster: the purge (Fx.purgeCraftTints, every
+    // ~250 ms) must cover the WHOLE pack — a craft that somehow ends up
+    // holding the white hit-flash state is re-asserted back to its
+    // normal colors no matter how the stick got there.
+    this.fx.purgeRoster = () => [this.ship, ...this.enemies];
 
     // The range console (HUD).
     this.createHud();
diff --git a/js/combat/CombatSystem.js b/js/combat/CombatSystem.js
index 3c2c42b..24b804b 100644
--- a/js/combat/CombatSystem.js
+++ b/js/combat/CombatSystem.js
@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ export class CombatSystem {
     this.nextFireAt = 0; // ms — the player's auto-fire cooldown stamp
 
     this.fx = new Fx(scene);
+    // The whiteness-purge roster: the purge (Fx.purgeCraftTints, every
+    // ~250 ms) must cover the WHOLE pack — a craft that somehow ends up
+    // holding the white hit-flash state is re-asserted back to its
+    // normal colors no matter how the stick got there.
+    this.fx.purgeRoster = () => [this.ship, ...this.enemies];
 
     this._active = false;
   }
diff --git a/js/combat/Fx.js b/js/combat/Fx.js
index 066924c..0a26756 100644
--- a/js/combat/Fx.js
+++ b/js/combat/Fx.js
@@ -158,6 +158,14 @@ export class Fx {
   constructor(scene) {
     this.scene = scene;
     this.items = []; // { img, t0, life, kind, ... }
+    // Every craft that ever took a white hit-flash (the periodic
+    // whiteness-purge's reach — js/combat/Fx.js → purgeCraftTints).
+    this.crafts = new Set();
+    // The context may hand over its live roster (player + pack) so the
+    // purge covers EVERY craft, not just ones we flashed — a stuck white
+    // state is a stuck white state, whatever caused it.
+    this.purgeRoster = null;
+    this._purgeClock = 0;
     Fx.ensureDot(scene);
   }
 
@@ -422,11 +430,26 @@ export class Fx {
   craftFlash(ship, life = 150) {
     if (!ship) return null;
     if (typeof ship.setTint === 'function' && typeof ship.setTintMode === 'function') {
+      // OVERLAPPING HITS: a second hit inside the flash window must
+      // EXTEND the pending flash, not stack a second item — a stacked
+      // item would capture the in-flash state (tintMode 1) as its
+      // "restore" value and re-apply the white AFTER expiry, leaving the
+      // living craft hot-white forever (the "turns white and stays
+      // white" bug). The first item's restore holds the true pre-flash
+      // state, so extending it is always correct.
+      for (let i = this.items.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+        const it = this.items[i];
+        if (it.kind === 'tintFlash' && it.img === ship) {
+          it.life = Math.max(it.life, it.t0 + life);
+          return ship;
+        }
+      }
       try {
         const tint = ship.tint;
         const mode = Number.isFinite(ship.tintMode) ? ship.tintMode : 0;
         ship.setTint(0xffffff);
         ship.setTintMode(1); // solid fill with the tint color (white)
+        this.crafts.add(ship); // the purge keeps this one honest
         this.items.push({
           img: ship,
           t0: 0,
@@ -444,6 +467,7 @@ export class Fx {
         /* fall through to the bloom */
       }
     }
+    this.crafts.add(ship);
     const r = Math.max(10, Number(ship.hitRadius) || 18);
     return this.flash(ship.x, ship.y, 0xffffff, r * 2.6, life);
   }
@@ -672,6 +696,47 @@ export class Fx {
       // 'tintFlash' needs no per-frame work (the pulse is set at spawn,
       // restored on expiry above).
     }
+    // THE WHITENESS PURGE (the user-requested last line of defense):
+    // a flash is a beat, never a state — a few times a second, re-assert
+    // the identity tint on every tracked craft that has no live flash.
+    // This re-syncs the craft (and anything that latched its white state)
+    // no matter how the stick got there, in BOTH contexts (they share
+    // this update path).
+    this._purgeClock += deltaMs;
+    if (this._purgeClock >= 250) {
+      this._purgeClock = 0;
+      this.purgeCraftTints();
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * THE PERIODIC WHITENESS PURGE (the user-requested last line of
+   * defense): a few times a second, from update(), every combat craft —
+   * the tracked flashes we know about AND the context's live roster —
+   * must be in normal colors. A craft with a live flash is the expiry
+   * path's to restore, so it's left alone; everything else is forced
+   * back to identity (settleCraftTint). Destroyed crafts are pruned so
+   * the tracking set can't leak. Cheap: a handful of setter calls.
+   */
+  purgeCraftTints() {
+    const targets = new Set(this.crafts);
+    if (typeof this.purgeRoster === 'function') {
+      try { for (const c of this.purgeRoster()) if (c) targets.add(c); } catch { /* roster seam */ }
+    }
+    if (targets.size === 0) return;
+    const live = new Set();
+    for (const it of this.items) {
+      if (it.kind === 'tintFlash') live.add(it.img);
+    }
+    for (const c of targets) {
+      if (!c) continue;
+      if (c.destroyed) {
+        this.crafts.delete(c); // dead — drop the reference (GC)
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (live.has(c)) continue; // live flash: legitimate, expiry restores
+      settleCraftTint(c);
+    }
   }
 
   /** Drop everything (a range reset) — restoring any craft flash. */