diff --git a/src/aare/gui/styles.py b/src/aare/gui/styles.py
index ed30b0cf..03abcac8 100644
--- a/src/aare/gui/styles.py
+++ b/src/aare/gui/styles.py
@@ -503,22 +503,11 @@ BOOKMARK_COLORS = {
     "lime": "#179299",  # teal — Latte has one green; teal keeps the pair distinct
 }
 
-# -- Busy overlay (per-source color coding) ---------------------------------
+# -- Busy overlay: PSI red for every busy state, blue for robot cooling ------
 # Catppuccin Latte accents; BORDER/DOT are 25%/20% mixes toward Latte base.
 BUSY_YELLOW = "#df8e1d"  # yellow
 BUSY_YELLOW_BORDER = "#ebd8bf"
 BUSY_YELLOW_DOT = "#ecddca"
-BUSY_YELLOW_TEXT_DARK = "#4c4f69"  # text
-BUSY_PURPLE = "#8839ef"  # mauve
-BUSY_PURPLE_BORDER = "#d5c3f4"
-BUSY_PURPLE_DOT = "#daccf4"
-BUSY_RED_BADGE = "#d20f39"  # red
-BUSY_RED_FILL = "#d20f39"  # red
-BUSY_RED_BORDER = "#e8b8c6"
-BUSY_RED_DOT = "#e9c4cf"
-BUSY_ORANGE = "#fe640b"  # peach
-BUSY_ORANGE_BORDER = "#f3ceba"
-BUSY_ORANGE_DOT = "#f2d5c6"
 BUSY_BLUE = "#1e66f5"  # blue
 BUSY_BLUE_BORDER = "#bbcef5"
 BUSY_BLUE_DOT = "#c5d5f5"
diff --git a/src/aare/gui/widgets/busy_overlay.py b/src/aare/gui/widgets/busy_overlay.py
index cbf356b7..b66d21f8 100644
--- a/src/aare/gui/widgets/busy_overlay.py
+++ b/src/aare/gui/widgets/busy_overlay.py
@@ -11,23 +11,12 @@ from aare.gui.styles import (
     BUSY_BLUE,
     BUSY_BLUE_BORDER,
     BUSY_BLUE_DOT,
-    BUSY_ORANGE,
-    BUSY_ORANGE_BORDER,
-    BUSY_ORANGE_DOT,
     BUSY_PSI_RED,
     BUSY_PSI_RED_BORDER,
     BUSY_PSI_RED_DOT,
-    BUSY_PURPLE,
-    BUSY_PURPLE_BORDER,
-    BUSY_PURPLE_DOT,
-    BUSY_RED_BADGE,
-    BUSY_RED_BORDER,
-    BUSY_RED_DOT,
-    BUSY_RED_FILL,
     BUSY_YELLOW,
     BUSY_YELLOW_BORDER,
     BUSY_YELLOW_DOT,
-    BUSY_YELLOW_TEXT_DARK,
     SHADOW,
     WHITE,
     qcolor,
@@ -201,77 +190,36 @@ def build_busy_overlay_style(
     # automation progress says the Center step is running. Checked before
     # is_busy because the callers pass is_busy=False during alignment.
     if auto_centering:
-        return BusyOverlayStyle(
-            text="AUTO CENTERING",
-            badge_bg=BUSY_PURPLE,
-            badge_fg=WHITE,
-            overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_PURPLE, 190),
-            overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_PURPLE_BORDER, 235),
-            overlay_text=qcolor(WHITE),
-            accent_dot=BUSY_PURPLE_DOT,
-            animate=True,
-        )
+        return _animated("AUTO CENTERING", BUSY_PSI_RED, BUSY_PSI_RED_BORDER, BUSY_PSI_RED_DOT)
 
     if not is_busy:
         return None
 
     activity_value = str(getattr(getattr(tell_state, "activity", None), "value", "") or "").lower()
 
-    if activity_value == "mounting":
-        return BusyOverlayStyle(
-            text="ROBOT MOUNTING",
-            badge_bg=BUSY_RED_BADGE,
-            badge_fg=WHITE,
-            overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_RED_FILL, 185),
-            overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_RED_BORDER, 230),
-            overlay_text=qcolor(WHITE),
-            accent_dot=BUSY_RED_DOT,
-            animate=True,
-        )
-
-    if activity_value == "unmounting":
-        return BusyOverlayStyle(
-            text="ROBOT UNMOUNTING",
-            badge_bg=BUSY_ORANGE,
-            badge_fg=WHITE,
-            overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_ORANGE, 190),
-            overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_ORANGE_BORDER, 230),
-            overlay_text=qcolor(WHITE),
-            accent_dot=BUSY_ORANGE_DOT,
-            animate=True,
-        )
-
-    if activity_value == "drying":
-        return BusyOverlayStyle(
-            text="ROBOT DRYING",
-            badge_bg=BUSY_YELLOW,
-            badge_fg=BUSY_YELLOW_TEXT_DARK,
-            overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_YELLOW, 195),
-            overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_YELLOW_BORDER, 235),
-            overlay_text=qcolor(BUSY_YELLOW_TEXT_DARK),
-            accent_dot=BUSY_YELLOW_DOT,
-            animate=True,
-        )
-
+    # Cooling is the one robot phase that keeps its own (blue) color: it is
+    # long, harmless and the operator should read it as "wait" not "danger".
+    # Every other busy state shares the PSI red so the badge reads as one
+    # "hands off" signal instead of a per-activity rainbow.
     if activity_value == "cooling":
-        return BusyOverlayStyle(
-            text="ROBOT COOLING",
-            badge_bg=BUSY_BLUE,
-            badge_fg=WHITE,
-            overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_BLUE, 190),
-            overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_BLUE_BORDER, 235),
-            overlay_text=qcolor(WHITE),
-            accent_dot=BUSY_BLUE_DOT,
-            animate=True,
-        )
+        return _animated("ROBOT COOLING", BUSY_BLUE, BUSY_BLUE_BORDER, BUSY_BLUE_DOT)
 
+    text = {
+        "mounting": "ROBOT MOUNTING",
+        "unmounting": "ROBOT UNMOUNTING",
+        "drying": "ROBOT DRYING",
+    }.get(activity_value, "BEAMLINE BUSY")
+    return _animated(text, BUSY_PSI_RED, BUSY_PSI_RED_BORDER, BUSY_PSI_RED_DOT)
+
+
+def _animated(text: str, base: str, border: str, dot: str) -> BusyOverlayStyle:
     return BusyOverlayStyle(
-        text="BEAMLINE BUSY",
-        badge_bg=BUSY_PSI_RED,
+        text=text,
+        badge_bg=base,
         badge_fg=WHITE,
-        overlay_fill=qcolor(BUSY_PSI_RED, 195),
-        overlay_border=qcolor(BUSY_PSI_RED_BORDER, 235),
+        overlay_fill=qcolor(base, 190),
+        overlay_border=qcolor(border, 235),
         overlay_text=qcolor(WHITE),
-        accent_dot=BUSY_PSI_RED_DOT,
+        accent_dot=dot,
         animate=True,
     )