diff --git a/docs/NEXT_STEPS.md b/docs/NEXT_STEPS.md
index 0433660..316cd2e 100644
--- a/docs/NEXT_STEPS.md
+++ b/docs/NEXT_STEPS.md
@@ -19,12 +19,13 @@ passes after gap slots are inserted. The transparent-point production fix did
 not visibly settle the report, so do not add another geometry patch from the
 current theory.
 
-Next investigation should compare the painted canvas pixels around the join
-against the chart API's expected coordinates in the user's production viewport.
-This is the same class of problem where self-consistent API coordinates once
-missed a real overlay offset. Capture the asset commit, final three bar times,
-their logical/x coordinates, the first two future coordinates, canonical line
-prices, and page-pixel samples from the rendered line before changing code.
+Painted-pixel diagnostics are now implemented: diagnostic mode samples the
+internal canvases around each join by the line's RGB colour and reports painted
+historical/future slopes beside canonical and API-coordinate slopes. A browser
+regression confirms actual canvas pixels stay continuous in the deterministic
+sparse-tail case. The remaining step is a production capture with those painted
+values; do not change geometry again until it says whether production pixels or
+production coordinates diverge.
 
 ### Load bars from the visible window
 
diff --git a/docs/implementation.md b/docs/implementation.md
index 2f19cda..3e235a0 100644
--- a/docs/implementation.md
+++ b/docs/implementation.md
@@ -1075,6 +1075,15 @@ shared scale. The time-scale owner now uses transparent zero-valued points with
 `autoscaleInfoProvider` that returns null. They remain invisible and cannot affect
 price range, but Lightweight Charts retains their timestamps as real series data.
 
+The next diagnostic step measures painted output rather than trusting the chart
+API's coordinate system. In diagnostic mode the readout now samples pixels from
+the internal canvases on both sides of the live-edge join, matching each manual
+line's configured RGB colour near its expected path. It reports those painted
+slopes alongside canonical price changes and API-coordinate slopes. This is
+deliberate: a prior overlay bug produced internally consistent coordinates while
+the pixels were visibly displaced. A deterministic browser test requires actual
+historical and future line pixels to exist and keep the same slope.
+
 ### 2026-08-15 — 1m zoom-out died at ~1am because the socket sent 1,000 bars
 
 Compressing the 1m time scale stopped around 01:00, then looked empty.
diff --git a/static/chart.js b/static/chart.js
index 755d492..75521f4 100644
--- a/static/chart.js
+++ b/static/chart.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class ConfluenceChart {
     this.currentPriceLine = null;
     this.currentPricePulse = null;
     this.projectionDiagnostic = null;
+    this.projectionDiagnosticFrame = null;
     this.animateCurrentPrice = true;
     this.autoScrollLivePrice = true;
     this.lastCurrentPrice = null;
@@ -2146,10 +2147,70 @@ class ConfluenceChart {
         .find(point => Number(point.time) === future.time)?.value;
       return { level, previous, current, next, series, historical: slope(previous, current), future: slope(current, next) };
     }).filter(row => row.current.y != null && row.current.y >= 0 && row.current.y <= plotHeight);
-    this.projectionDiagnostic.textContent = lines.map(row =>
-      `#${row.level.number} ${row.level.tf} dp ${((row.current.p ?? 0) - (row.previous.p ?? 0)).toFixed(3)}/${((row.next.p ?? 0) - (row.current.p ?? 0)).toFixed(3)} px ${(row.historical ?? 0).toFixed(3)}/${(row.future ?? 0).toFixed(3)} ${row.series == null ? 'MISSING' : 'OK'}`,
-    ).join('\n');
+    const text = (row, painted = null) =>
+      `#${row.level.number} ${row.level.tf} dp ${((row.current.p ?? 0) - (row.previous.p ?? 0)).toFixed(3)}/${((row.next.p ?? 0) - (row.current.p ?? 0)).toFixed(3)} px ${(row.historical ?? 0).toFixed(3)}/${(row.future ?? 0).toFixed(3)} paint ${painted ? `${painted.historical?.toFixed(3) ?? '?'}/${painted.future?.toFixed(3) ?? '?'}` : '?/?'} ${row.series == null ? 'MISSING' : 'OK'}`;
+    this.projectionDiagnostic.textContent = lines.map(row => text(row)).join('\n');
     this.projectionDiagnostic.hidden = !lines.length;
+    if (this.projectionDiagnosticFrame != null) cancelAnimationFrame(this.projectionDiagnosticFrame);
+    this.projectionDiagnosticFrame = requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+      this.projectionDiagnosticFrame = null;
+      this.projectionDiagnostic.textContent = lines.map(row => text(row, {
+        historical: this.paintedSlopeBetween(row.previous, row.current, ConfluenceChart.levelColor(row.level)),
+        future: this.paintedSlopeBetween(row.current, row.next, ConfluenceChart.levelColor(row.level)),
+      })).join('\n');
+    });
+  }
+
+  paintedSlopeBetween(first, second, color) {
+    if ([first.x, first.y, second.x, second.y].some(value => value == null)) return null;
+    const at = fraction => ({
+      x: first.x + (second.x - first.x) * fraction,
+      y: first.y + (second.y - first.y) * fraction,
+    });
+    const a = at(0.25);
+    const b = at(0.75);
+    const y1 = this.paintedYAt(a.x, a.y, color);
+    const y2 = this.paintedYAt(b.x, b.y, color);
+    return y1 == null || y2 == null ? null : (y2 - y1) / (b.x - a.x);
+  }
+
+  paintedYAt(x, expectedY, color) {
+    const match = /^#([0-9a-f]{6})$/i.exec(color || '');
+    if (!match) return null;
+    const value = Number.parseInt(match[1], 16);
+    const target = [(value >> 16) & 255, (value >> 8) & 255, value & 255];
+    const plot = this.plotCanvas()?.getBoundingClientRect();
+    if (!plot) return null;
+    const pageX = plot.left + x;
+    const candidates = [];
+    for (const canvas of this.chartEl.querySelectorAll('canvas')) {
+      const rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
+      if (!rect.width || !rect.height || pageX < rect.left || pageX > rect.right) continue;
+      const scaleX = canvas.width / rect.width;
+      const scaleY = canvas.height / rect.height;
+      const pixelX = Math.round((pageX - rect.left) * scaleX);
+      const top = Math.max(0, Math.floor((plot.top + expectedY - 8 - rect.top) * scaleY));
+      const bottom = Math.min(canvas.height - 1, Math.ceil((plot.top + expectedY + 8 - rect.top) * scaleY));
+      if (bottom < top) continue;
+      try {
+        const image = canvas.getContext('2d').getImageData(
+          Math.max(0, pixelX - 1), top, Math.min(3, canvas.width - Math.max(0, pixelX - 1)), bottom - top + 1,
+        );
+        for (let offset = 0; offset < image.data.length; offset += 4) {
+          if (image.data[offset + 3] < 80) continue;
+          const distance = Math.hypot(
+            image.data[offset] - target[0], image.data[offset + 1] - target[1],
+            image.data[offset + 2] - target[2],
+          );
+          if (distance > 55) continue;
+          const row = Math.floor((offset / 4) / image.width);
+          candidates.push(rect.top - plot.top + (top + row) / scaleY);
+        }
+      } catch { /* An unreadable internal canvas contributes no measurement. */ }
+    }
+    if (!candidates.length) return null;
+    candidates.sort((a, b) => Math.abs(a - expectedY) - Math.abs(b - expectedY));
+    return candidates[0];
   }
 
   lineData(level) {
diff --git a/tests/e2e/trendline.test.mjs b/tests/e2e/trendline.test.mjs
index fdc75a6..2b67ed9 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/trendline.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/e2e/trendline.test.mjs
@@ -216,6 +216,57 @@ test('a short final data gap does not kink a future trendline',
     });
   });
 
+test('painted canvas pixels keep the same slope through the live edge',
+  { timeout: 180000 }, async () => {
+    await withChart(async page => {
+      await page.evaluate(() => {
+        const c = window.__chart;
+        const minute = 60;
+        const bars = Array.from({ length: 20 }, (_, index) => ({
+          tf: '1m', t: 200000 + index * minute, o: 100, h: 101, l: 99, c: 100,
+          v: 1, closed: true,
+        }));
+        bars.push({ ...bars.at(-1), t: bars.at(-1).t + 9 * minute });
+        const line = {
+          id: 'painted-tail', kind: 'manual', tf: '30m', side: 'support', label: 'paint',
+          anchor_t: bars[0].t, anchor_p: 99, last_t: bars[0].t + 30 * minute,
+          slope: 2 / (30 * minute), cutoff_t: null, hidden: false, color: '#65b7cf',
+          line_width: 3, provisional: false,
+        };
+        c.setBars(bars);
+        c.setTrendlineGeometry({
+          mode: 'source_tf',
+          series: { '30m': { times: Array.from({ length: 4 }, (_, i) => bars[0].t + i * 30 * minute), duration: 30 * minute } },
+        });
+        c.syncLevels([line]);
+      });
+      await page.waitForTimeout(200);
+      const result = await page.evaluate(() => {
+        const c = window.__chart;
+        const line = c.levels[0];
+        const last = c.bars.length - 1;
+        const futureTime = c.bars[last].t + 60;
+        const point = time => ({
+          x: c.chart.timeScale().timeToCoordinate(time),
+          y: c.candles.priceToCoordinate(c.linePriceAtIndex(line, c.indexAt(time))),
+        });
+        const previous = point(c.bars[last - 1].t);
+        const current = point(c.bars[last].t);
+        const future = point(futureTime);
+        return {
+          historical: c.paintedSlopeBetween(previous, current, line.color),
+          future: c.paintedSlopeBetween(current, future, line.color),
+        };
+      });
+
+      assert.notEqual(result.historical, null, 'historical canvas line pixels were not found');
+      assert.notEqual(result.future, null, 'future canvas line pixels were not found');
+      assert.ok(Math.abs(result.historical - result.future) < 0.08,
+        `painted line kinked from ${result.historical} to ${result.future}`);
+      assertNoPageErrors(page, assert);
+    });
+  });
+
 test('a manual line series owns its future 5m slots without an SVG projection',
   { timeout: 180000 }, async () => {
     await withChart(async page => {