I had a cover up two weeks ago in Glasgow. My old tattoo had been there for over 20 years and it had faded badly and i really wanted it fixed rather than covered. The tattoo artist said it was not possible to fix it but he could cover it with a slightly larger version of something very similar. He did the tattoo and i am pleased with it except that some of the old one is still clearly visible. A different artist at the shop told me this often happens and i can go back when it has fully healed and have it coloured again at no extra cost. He said some people need to go back two or three times. This was not mentioned before he did the tattoo and i can’t find anything online about it. I have spoken to three people who have had cover ups and none of them have ever needed to go back for more work. So my question is- Is this true?
Hi!
I have had a cover-up on my arm similar to yourself except my old tattoo was quite fresh but only line work.
My artist told me that once the ink settles I may be able to still see the existing tattoo underneith at no fault of my own or the tattooist. It’s hard for me to advise since I’m unsure of what you had covered up, the pigment of the ink, design and so forth and what is now over the top of the old tattoo.
I would highly reccommend waiting until it has healed and seeing how the new ink settles in your skin. A good artist would not want your tattoo to look unfinished, they want to make their clients happy – so I would ideally go back to the same tattooist for 1 more touch up. I don’t think many pieces should take more than 2 sessions to finish, unless we are talking a huge piece on the whole thigh or portion of the back.
With my coverup I have my 2nd session booked for March for a touch up as the old tattoo is still visible. I have asked the opinion of my friends and each of them cannot tell what I had covered up and actually tend to guess its hiding in a completely unrelated part of the design.. but to me, I can still see the old design. I lothed it so much that of course I want every single line to never be visible ever again.. it’s not how our brains work unfortunately. Perservere until the healing has finished and I’m sure it will look awesome, if not.. trust your artist to give it a 2nd go over.
Hope it all works out!
🙂
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I had the Glasgow Rangers football club logo with a Union Jack on my forearm. It looked great at first but over the years it started fading until all the definition had gone and i was left with what looked like a blue blob. I wanted it repaired but the tattooist said it couldn’t be fixed but he could cover it with a slightly bigger version of something very similar. I had read that you can’t cover a dark colour with a lighter colour but the tattooist assured me it would blend in with no problems. Most of the tattoo is fine but some of the old outline is still visible. The main problem is he used red to cover dark blue/black (the colour tattooists use for words) and it shows through. I wouldn’t be concerned if he had told me i might need to go back to have the colour done again but he never mentioned it.
Thanks for your reply
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