Cover Up Tattoos in Newcastle: What is Possible, and What is Not

Cover ups are part design, part diagnosis. They are also some of the most rewarding pieces we do at our tattoo studio in Newcastle, because they let a client finally walk away from a tattoo they have spent years regretting. But not every cover up is realistic. Here is how the process actually works.

What can be covered, honestly

The cleanest rule of cover ups is that the new tattoo always has to be bigger and darker than the existing one. How much bigger and darker depends on three things:

• The colour and density of the existing ink (solid black is harder to cover than faded older work).
• The placement (skin on the calf or thigh covers more easily than skin on the wrist or hand).
• The age and quality of the original tattoo (badly scarred old work may need laser fading first).

At consultation we look at the existing piece in person, in good light. Photos help, but skin in real life always tells a clearer story.

Laser before cover up: when it makes sense

Some cover ups need a few laser sessions first to fade the existing tattoo to a workable level. This is most common with very dark, very recent work. Laser is not a magic eraser, it just gives us more design options because we no longer have to fight the original ink with pure density.

We will tell you honestly if a cover up needs laser first. If the existing tattoo is already faded enough, we can usually go straight in.

Designs that work for cover ups

Black and grey realism, dark florals, animal portraits and Chicano portraits all work well as cover ups because they have a wide range of natural blacks and shadows that hide what is underneath. Fine line and pastel-toned work usually does not, no matter how clever the composition.

See examples of black and grey cover and large-scale work in the portfolio.

How long it takes

A cover up usually takes one or two sessions more than a fresh piece of the same size. The first session is largely about laying down the new structure and dropping in heavy blacks where the old tattoo lives. The second is detail and depth. Larger cover ups follow the same multi-session model as any large custom realism work.

What it costs

Cover ups are priced like the equivalent fresh tattoo, plus extra design time, because the artwork has to solve a constraint instead of starting from a blank canvas. For ballpark numbers see our guide to tattoo cost in Newcastle.

Booking a cover up consultation

Send a clear photo of the existing tattoo on Facebook Messenger or give us a call, with a rough idea of where you want to go with it. We will come back with a realistic plan and book you in for a free consultation at the Newcastle studio. If you are still researching tattoos in Newcastle generally, the studio overview is a good place to start.