Cover-Up Tattoos for Gilbert: Cover the Old Ink Now or Fade It First?
If you're in Gilbert with an old tattoo you want gone, the first real question about a cover-up is whether the ink can be covered as it is or should be faded with a laser first. An artist can usually tell you at one free consult.
A cover-up tattoo doesn't erase anything. It's a new design built to sit over the old one and hide its lines inside darker shading, so where the two overlap, the new work has to be at least as dark as the old. That's why the answer for a Gilbert cover-up depends so much on how dark your old tattoo still is. At Tagz Tattoo, heavy black and grey is the house style, and it gives an artist the densest tools there are for covering.
The cover-up tattoos page explains how a cover-up gets designed. This post is about the decision that comes before the design.
What an artist reads in your old tattoo
Ink that has been in skin for years spreads a little, goes soft at the edges and rarely fades evenly. An artist looks at where the heaviest spots sit, because those decide where the new piece has to put its darkest black. They're also looking at how big the old piece is, since a cover-up almost always runs larger than the tattoo it hides.
A photo can't show that well. It won't tell an artist how dark the ink really sits or how your skin took it, which is why we'd rather see it in person.
Covers as it is, or fade it first
| Usually covers as it is | Often worth fading first |
|---|---|
| Light or faded older tattoos | Fresh, solid black pieces |
| Thin linework with not much ink left | Dark tribal and heavy lettering |
| Work that's already grey or low contrast | Ink so dense it may need laser lightening first |
| Small pieces you're happy to size up | Anything you want hidden under something small |
Style matters on the cover side too. Old ink shows through lighter work, so a delicate fine line piece or soft color design won't hide a bold black band underneath. If you're set on a light design, fading the old tattoo first is often what makes it possible.
What fading first involves
We don't do laser at the shop. If your piece would cover better after it's lightened, the artist will say so plainly at the consult and you'd have those sessions done somewhere else before coming back. Nobody here will talk you into a cover that won't hold up just to fill a chair.
Laser lightening takes more than one visit. The American Academy of Dermatology explains on its laser tattoo removal page that a laser can't safely break down all the layers of ink in one session, that your body needs time to flush the ink out between treatments, and that the tattoo should lighten after each one. For a cover-up the aim is only to lighten the old ink, which is why our artists talk about a few laser sessions rather than full removal. A dermatologist or laser provider is the one to ask how many your tattoo would need.
How the cover-up itself goes
Packing dense black over existing ink is a lot for skin in one day, so a bigger cover-up is split across sittings with healing time between. Push it too far in one go and ink drops out of the overworked spots. What counts is how it looks healed, and a good artist plans the darks knowing the work settles over the two or three weeks after.
Healing in this heat takes some care. The National Weather Service counts an average of 21 days a year at 110°F or hotter in Phoenix (1991 to 2020), so keep a new cover-up out of direct sun and out of the pool until it closes up.
Getting to the shop from Gilbert
Gilbert Road and Lindsay Road both run straight north out of Gilbert into Mesa and cross East Main. Lindsay meets Main less than a tenth of a mile east of the shop, so come up Lindsay, turn west, and you're nearly at the door. From Gilbert Road, turn east on Main for a little under a mile. Parking is out front. The tattoo shop near Gilbert page has the rest of the routes.
We take walk-ins when a chair is open, but for a cover-up it's better to call first and book a consult, so the artist who looks at your old tattoo is the one who'd do the work. Hours are Sunday noon to 6, Monday through Thursday noon to 8, and Friday and Saturday noon to 10. Bring a valid photo ID, since we tattoo 18 and over only.
Questions worth asking at a cover-up consult
- Can this cover as it is, or would fading it first give me a better result?
- How much bigger will the new piece need to be?
- Where will the darkest parts of the new design sit over the old ink?
- How many sittings, and how long between them?
Getting ready for the consult? Our post on bringing old ink to a cover-up consultation covers what to show the artist, and what a cover-up costs explains how the quote gets built.
Have an old tattoo you want covered?
Consults are free and you pay nothing unless you decide to book.
