Cover Up Tattoo in Los Angeles
A cover-up is not simply a bigger version of the same tattoo. The old piece decides what the new one can be: how dark it is, how saturated, how old, how large and where it sits.
We cover up existing tattoos and rework pieces done elsewhere.
Dark, heavy and recent work limits the options far more than faded line work does. Sometimes the honest answer is that lightening the old tattoo first will give a much better result than forcing a design over it, and if that is the case we will say so rather than sell you a compromise.
Some cover-ups are easier after the old tattoo has been lightened. We do not have a laser in the studio, but we will tell you when lightening would help and can point you to a laser clinic for it.
Send photographs of the existing tattoo in good, even light together with the idea you have in mind. We will tell you what is possible with that specific tattoo, what it would take and roughly how many sessions.
Free consultation, a custom design made for your body, and a deposit that secures the date and goes toward the final price.
Planning Your Visit
Age
We tattoo and pierce adults only - 18 and over, no exceptions. California law makes tattooing anyone under 18 a misdemeanour (Penal Code 653) and the Safe Body Art Act sets the same limit (Health and Safety Code 119302). The state does allow piercing a minor with a parent or guardian present, and bans nipple and genital piercing on minors outright, but our own rule is simply 18 and over.
Consultation
Free. Text us, call the studio, or come in - the front desk answers the practical questions and the artist takes the design ones.
Booking and deposit
A deposit secures your date and comes off the final price. Some artists take walk-ins for small work; large projects are booked with a specific artist and often months ahead. Guest artists from other states and countries work here through the year.
Sessions
A working day usually runs from noon to around 6pm, sometimes 7pm, with breaks; artists set their own pace and their own day.
Touch-ups
A touch-up after healing is free when the artist judges the piece needs one - they will tell you at the end of the session or when you send healed photos.
Languages
Russian, English and Serbian are spoken in the studio.
Finding us
7224 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles. Street parking on Melrose, plus a paid all-day lot across the road; the studio has no lot of its own. The entrance is on Melrose with no step, and the restroom is wheelchair accessible. Open 12pm to 8pm, seven days.
Payment
Credit and debit cards, cash, Zelle, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Standards
The studio works under the California Safe Body Art Act and Los Angeles County Public Health rules for body art.
Cover Up Tattoo Questions
Can any tattoo be covered up?
Most can, but not all in one step. What is possible depends on how dark and how saturated the existing tattoo is, how large it is, where it sits and how it healed. Some pieces are covered directly; others need lightening first so that the new design is not forced to be far larger and darker than you wanted.
Does a cover-up have to be bigger and darker than the old tattoo?
Usually somewhat bigger, and usually darker in the areas that sit over the old ink, because the new design has to carry enough value to hide what is underneath. Good cover-up design uses that constraint deliberately, placing the darkest parts of the new composition exactly where the old tattoo is strongest.
Do I need laser removal before a cover-up?
Not always. A few sessions of lightening give the new design much more freedom when the old tattoo is very dark or very saturated, but plenty of cover-ups are done without it. It is assessed on the actual tattoo at the consultation, not from a description.
How many sessions does a cover-up take?
It depends on the size of the new design and on how much of the old work has to be neutralised. Larger cover-ups follow the same rule as any large custom piece and are split across several sessions with healing time in between.