Rob I

Was responding to a week old post started by a now banned member, and thought I'd share the info in a more suitable thread. I was talking with Beth Potter at Hobo's tattoo shop in Portsmouth and we were chatting about sunblocks and keeping tattoos looking great over the years. She has a 15 year old sleeve done by Jason Scott, that looks like it was done a year ago. Just stunning. She mentioned SPF shirts. These are essentially clothing that have spf ratings. I've picked up a few from a few different companies, and thought I'd share the fact that this type of clothing is available by a number of different retailers. I've picked up a few myself. Thought it could be a good thing to wear during the no sunblock phase.... Not all are made the same though, and some lose their effectiveness after multiple washings, so do some research. I would also be wary about wearing them while the tattoo is in the "wound phase" as some of these shirts may have been chemically treated to make them effective. rob

I hold off on the sunscreen for at least a month after getting a new tattoo. Is that overkill? Probably. Has anyone here heard of "spf" or "upf" shirts? You can google "spf shirt" and find more than a few companies selling them. I have a few and I think it's a good option. They even make rash guard shirts for the beach with spf protection. These are typically pretty breathable and would solve SOME of your beach / new tattoo related problems. I say some, because they aren't waterproof, and I would not go swimming with a barely 2 week old tattoo. But you could wear it while on the beach and remain protected without having to put on sunblock. I believe that target sells some sort of branded spf clothing, if you can't wait out the delivery time before you leave. DO NOT TRY TO FIND THESE SHIRTS IN THE DOMINICAN> I"VE ALREADY TRIED. No store had them, and they all looked at me funny when i asked. rob silly me, i see nagua has been banned. Oh well, perhaps others will find some use out of my post.

@Pleadco - UNREAL!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

This is gorgeous. I love it. Congratulations on a stunning first tattoo.

I love all of these!!! The eagle is amazing!!!!

Super nice!!!! Chad is the Best!!!

This tattoo is stunningly gorgeous!

This is INCREDIBLE!

DUDE, first of all, thank you! Second of all, he drew the snake with that exact image in his head!!!!!

@BrianH That is awesome. It is such a great shop!! Tony is another great one. He started me on my quest for good tattoos after he did the Lacasse snake on my forearm last summer. I love that guy. Did you know he used to be Robert Dinero's personal assistant before he became a tattooer?! Crazy!! Your tattoo from Chad came out amazing!!!

Thank you for all of the kind words!! I am thrilled with how it came out! Chad is such a super cool dude and made the horrific pain a bit more bearable! @BrianH - Yes! Another tattoo! Chad was running late when I showed up for my appt, but Jebb Riley wasn't busy at all, so we started a panther cover up of an old Celtic tattoo on my arm. Just did the line work since minutes after, Chad was ready to roll. A lot of tattooing went down that night. I absolutely love how this is coming out, but am hesitant to post since Jebb hasn't put it up on Instagram yet. Can't wait to finish it. Jebb is an awesome tattooer and I've wanted something from him for a while. He just happened to have an amazing panther in his sketchbook that I fell in love with on the spot.

thank you!

Had Chad K. finish my eagle this past friday night at Congress Street Tattoo in Portsmouth. Love it. So glad it's over.. A brutal couple of hours, but so worth it.

damn. just amazing man. even better on a computer screen vs a phone.

This is AMAZING. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry, quoted, the wrong poster, but the tattoo is the balls. - - - Updated - - - this was the poster I meant to quote. rarehardtofind- I effing love your tattoo!

I thought it sounded weird at first too. "Collecting" tattoos, as if you could find some nice ones at a garage sale... but truthfully, it is similar to collecting paintings from different artists...and the term kind of fits.

It looks fantastic!!!

A few months ago, I approached an artist about doing a re-work to an older existing tattoo. He seemed ok with it at first, but later sent me an email explaining that he knew I was a collector and would be happy to tattoo me, but wanted to do something new and not re-work someone else's work. He explained that since I was a collector he wanted to put his best foot first and do something new and original on me. I didn't take it negatively. I thought it was refreshing honesty and made me even more eager to get work done by him.

I absolutely LOVE this!

Thank you Graeme!!! And you are so right about my wandering into Congress St. I was very fortunate to stumble into such a fabulous shop. Everyone at Congress st and hobos are so great and talented. I spent several hours there yesterday just shooting the shit with Jason. I absolutely love that guy. He's as cool as they come.

totally forgot to add that Chad is coloring it when he returns.

Here is a pic of my chest piece that the magnificent Chad Koeplinger did last night at Congress Street Tattoo.. I absolutely love how this came out. It hurt more than I thought it would, and I thought it would hurt a lot. Jason Scott and his wife Kim sat nearby the entire time and offered great moral support. It was an adventure. Definitely biggest tattoo that I have and by far the most painful. But, it was definitely worth the pain. Apparently Chad is coming back to Congress St soon and will color it then. I have to say, he is one cool dude, and was amazing through the entire process. I absolutely love the design he came up with. I will get my back done by him when that time comes. sorry for the sideways picture. That crap annoys the piss out of me. Pulled the other pic from Chad's instagram to show it properly.

Yes yes yes!!!! So stoked!!!!!!! Thank you so much!