12
The Needles
HAVE to be han-
dled with care. They each have
individual points that can be bent
if you’re not careful.
If you’re just doing a cleaning on
your Tatt, do NOT remove the
needle. Carefully wipe it down
with an paper towel soaked with
alcohol. Start at the motor, wipe
toward the tips. Do Not wipe
backwards, that can cause the
needle tips to get lint in them and
possibly bend. When done clean-
ing it, coat it with antibiotic ointment.
They are fairly strong, but with the head off they are
much more delicate. As the needle wears, the tips
will spread a little bit, that’s OK, you’ll just get a
slightly wider line.
You should be able to feel when the needle dulls. It
will start to not flow as smoothly and you’ll have to
slow down. This should not happen until you’re way
past 100 ears. If the needle gets damaged or does
eventually wear out, here are the instructions for re-
moving it and replacing it.
5
bit so that the needle can push
the ink into the skin smoothly.
Practice on a banana.. Get the
feel of the tattooer, get used to writing block let-
ters. The skin on a banana is smooth like the skin
on the inside of an ear or thigh. The only differ-
ence with a banana is that you can actually push
the barrel into the skin. If you are careful and
don’t do that, you can have your family eat the
practice bananas, USE BLOCK LETTERING!
Don’t get fancy, the judges want to read them.
The bottom line here is that you want to make
sure that the needle penetrates into the second
layer of skin. Many tattoos are lost due to peeling
off because they only go into the 1st layer, which
is 1/32”.
So make sure that the tattooer is held at a 90*
(degree) angle—or right angles to the skin. Just
as shown in the diagram at the top of the last
page. Then the needle has the opportunity to go
into the second layer of skin and the tattoo will
stay for at least 10 years.
12
The Needles
HAVE to be han-
dled with care. They each have
individual points that can be bent
if you’re not careful.
If you’re just doing a cleaning on
your Tatt, do NOT remove the
needle. Carefully wipe it down
with an paper towel soaked with
alcohol. Start at the motor, wipe
toward the tips. Do Not wipe
backwards, that can cause the
needle tips to get lint in them and
possibly bend. When done clean-
ing it, coat it with antibiotic ointment.
They are fairly strong, but with the head off they are
much more delicate. As the needle wears, the tips
will spread a little bit, that’s OK, you’ll just get a
slightly wider line.
You should be able to feel when the needle dulls. It
will start to not flow as smoothly and you’ll have to
slow down. This should not happen until you’re way
past 100 ears. If the needle gets damaged or does
eventually wear out, here are the instructions for re-
moving it and replacing it.
5
bit so that the needle can push
the ink into the skin smoothly.
Practice on a banana.. Get the
feel of the tattooer, get used to writing block let-
ters. The skin on a banana is smooth like the skin
on the inside of an ear or thigh. The only differ-
ence with a banana is that you can actually push
the barrel into the skin. If you are careful and
don’t do that, you can have your family eat the
practice bananas, USE BLOCK LETTERING!
Don’t get fancy, the judges want to read them.
The bottom line here is that you want to make
sure that the needle penetrates into the second
layer of skin. Many tattoos are lost due to peeling
off because they only go into the 1st layer, which
is 1/32”.
So make sure that the tattooer is held at a 90*
(degree) angle—or right angles to the skin. Just
as shown in the diagram at the top of the last
page. Then the needle has the opportunity to go
into the second layer of skin and the tattoo will
stay for at least 10 years.
