BUBBLEGUM iNK ®, COVERING UP OTHER STUDIOS CR@P TATTOOS SINCE 2004
Over our tattooing life span, we have covered over some truly horrendous tattoos done by other studios and from people just having a go with a ‘kit’ they bought off ebay.
Key Takeaways
- Bubblegum Ink has been covering up other studios’ bad tattoos since 2004, including work most shops turn away.
- A lot of tattooists refuse cover ups. Bubblegum Ink actively takes them on, so a refusal elsewhere does not mean you are stuck with it.
- Heavy or badly dug in tattoos sometimes need a few laser sessions first to lighten them before a cover up will sit properly.
- Tattoos and laser work are strictly 18 and over, whatever the circumstances and whoever is standing behind you.
- Bubblegum Ink is in Sandbach, Cheshire. Ring 01270 385001 or send a photo over and we will tell you straight whether it can be covered.
Spur of the moment drunken Blackpool special, a loved ones name, who is now despised because they got off with your best friend, a dare tatto, that now affecting your new found lifestyle. Literally ive covered up everything, the list would be too extensive, but such favourites,…mmm…..a girl who had a large number for the amount of guys she had slept with in ‘MAGA’, there loads and most of the time the YOLO attitude or drugs or drink spur us on to get, what at the time, may be the best tattoo ever, but as life carries on and takes deviations, those tattoos may be coming back to haunt you.
Our talented artist can sort them out!
Read on for more on the subject.
Covering over that bad mistake !
There are a vast majority of tattoo studios that won’t coverup tattoos. We love it. The thing is because either the tattooist or your mate in the kitchen did a very poor job of your tattoo, doesn’t mean that you have to live with it forever.
Here are some great examples of some of the stories attached to some really bad tattoos and one of the most horrendous tattoos we have ever seen !
The above image is of a guy whose mate said he could cover over the heart with a tiger coming through the bamboo. Alcohol had a hand to play in these escapades. he’d been refused at multiple studios to get it covered up. We sorted it out and after some remedial laser treatment to get the gnarly bits out of the way, we covered it up with some old school design work.
Just because your mate has hands and can doodle a funny cat very now and again, doesn’t mean that the tattoo machine he bought of eBay is going to thrust him into the tattooing spotlight. I can’t see David Beckham knocking on his door and getting him to clear away the beer cans, so he can get a smoking cheap tattoo off the new boy wonder.
F##k work on knuckles !
This client came in, still worse for wear on an early Monday morning. He worked a high profile job doing mortgages, but has got skittled at a party over the week end. His ‘mates’ thought it would be a laugh to start playing with someone newly acquired eBay kit and as he was passed out he seemed like the best candidate. So they scrawled f##k work on his knuckles. there is this guy hung over in the shop, having a proper panic, shirt and tie, wondering what he’s going to do about getting shot of these in the next couple of hrs. Well they were properly dug in, so the best course of action was for him to keep them dosed up in Sudacrem.
Yep that baby arse cream!
Bepanthen will heal a tattoo perfect, yet Sudacrem is like a tattoos nightmare. it will pull the ink out as fast as it can and leave you fairly tattoo less. So good advice there folks, if ya wake up with a giant phallic symbol tattooed on your head, get the sudacream out first thing.
The face tattoo, like Tysons !
Now Ive done some really stupid things in my time, pissed up naked cliff diving in the pitch black being one that comes to mind, or seeing if you could live on a diet of pure trifle for 7 days and nothing else and getting diabetes, but the next guy takes the biscuit. A guy comes in with crap scrawled over his face and i don’t mean a little bit. He had some half arsed attempts of the Mike Tyson tattoo on both sides of his face. In tow was a livid mother. He’s never had a tattoo, but what with Christmas just passing, his mate and him went out on the jollies. Bladdered they stumble in and hey presto out comes the eBay tattoo kit.
No not satisfied with tattooing ‘ I love kerbs’ or some other random comment on some hidden part of his body, in his ten men stupor, its the Tyson tattoo or nothing. So his drooling mate, who’s never tattooed or even drawn anything, starts ramming ink in his mates face, all the while taking blurry direction from good old YouTube. It didn’t go well, he’d even colored his eyelid in ! So to try and stop every one falling out, drunken tattoo master, says he’ll make it better by doing the other side…..Freehand.
Ffs, what a mess, his ma was going psycho and the worst was, we couldn’t do anything, why? He was 17 !! tattoos and laser are all over 18.
Maybe as George Micheal said, some mistakes were built to last.
Conclusion
So stop getting slaughtered and tattooing each other, but if you have been to the blurry side, then come in and see us and we will fix it for you.
THE WORLDS GONE MAD, TAKE ME BACK HOME !
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any tattoo be covered up?
Most can, but not all in one go. Dark, heavy or badly dug in work sometimes needs a few laser sessions first to fade it down before anything decent will sit over the top. Send us a photo and we will tell you honestly which camp yours is in rather than waste your time.
Does the new tattoo have to be bigger than the old one?
Usually, yes. You need room to work around and through the old ink to break it up, so a cover up is nearly always larger and darker than what is underneath. How much bigger depends on what we are dealing with.
Do I need laser before a cover up?
Not always. Lighter or patchy tattoos can often go straight over. Heavy black work, thick lines or a botched home job usually needs the worst of it lasered off first so the cover up has a chance to look like a tattoo rather than a smudge.
Will you cover up a tattoo done by someone else?
Yes, that is most of what we do. Other studios, eBay kits, someone’s mate in a kitchen at three in the morning. We have seen the lot and we are not going to make you feel daft about it.
Can you cover up a name?
Yes, and it is one of the most common jobs that comes through the door. Names cover well because the design can be built around the letters rather than fighting them.
Can you cover a hand, knuckle or face tattoo?
Sometimes, though these are the hardest going. Skin on hands and faces holds ink differently and heals differently, so what is possible varies a lot. Bring it in and we will look at it properly before promising anything.
How much does a tattoo cover up cost?
It depends entirely on size, how heavy the old tattoo is and whether laser is needed first. Get in touch with a photo and we will give you a proper idea rather than a number plucked out of thin air.
How many sessions will it take?
Small cover ups often go in one sitting. Bigger ones, or anything that needs lasering first, run across several appointments with healing time in between. We will map it out for you at the consultation.
Can you cover up a tattoo if I am under 18?
No. Tattooing and laser are both 18 and over with no exceptions, even where the tattoo was done to you rather than by you. It is the law and we do not bend it.
Can I bring a photo instead of coming in?
Yes, start there. Send a clear, well lit photo of the tattoo along with a rough idea of what you would like over it, and we can tell you what is realistic before you travel in.
Booking
Bubblegum Ink is in Sandbach, Cheshire, appointment only, with easy access from junctions 17 and 18 of the M6. Call 01270 385001, email info@bubblegumink.com, or use the contact page. Send a photo of the tattoo with your first message and we can tell you what is possible before you travel in.
Written by Paul Cutler, founder of Bubblegum Ink ®. He has worked as a tattoo artist for around thirty years and has been covering up other people’s mistakes in Sandbach, Cheshire since 2004. His work has featured on the BBC and in national and international press. Read more about Paul.