Small debris getting on needle?

Hello,

I am fairly new to tattooing, and would probably be considered a scratcher. I went from fruit to myself which I know is not recommended... Alas, after I was getting depth and lines solid I did a few friends and now strangers but I have very recently had a strange problem that I can not find reference to online.

Sometimes after placing a few lines I will notice the ink stop going in very well even though the machine is bogging down (I dip at this point to make sure its not lack of ink). When I check the needle it looks as if there are very tiny particles on or in the needle that I am pretty sure is not ink. The only thing I can think this would be is paper towel? I do a light dry pat every few lines and then a wipe over with the vaseline, should I be wetting the paper towel before I dab? wouldn't that mess up the stencil? When I notice this issue I immediately switch my needle

I run a rotary at 7v with tip coming out about 3-5mm when the bar is pressed down, also almost always have to do 2 or 3 passes to get lines to stay which might just be my depth but honestly not 100% sure cause sometimes i get a really smooth solid line on first go...

I know most people will say I should go back to pigskin but everyone who gets work from me knows the quality as I post pics of everything and tell them it will be shit quality cause I am learning and they are all for free atm. This being said I am doing like 10 pieces a week at this point (3 weeks in to tatting strangers) and would rather not slow down. Haven't had any blowouts just the odd line falling out but this new issue is worrying me alot and making pieces take forever

I appreciate any advice and I know people may think I should go back a step and learn better but this is my lifeblood right now and I am just going to keep going as it is improving my skills faster and gaining me a good portfolio and following and I just want to be as safe as possible. This community has been a wealth of knowledge for me and I am grateful! Sorry for not taking the time to learn properly I hope that doesn't discredit my wanting to fix my other mistakes!

Thanks

Do you clean your needles too? Sounds like you're getting a lot of vaseline in your needles so there's no room for ink anymore.
I use a damp paper towel to clean and use very little vaseline.

balooka said:

Do you clean your needles too? Sounds like you're getting a lot of vaseline in your needles so there's no room for ink anymore.
I use a damp paper towel to clean and use very little vaseline.

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Hey Balooka thanks for responding, I use single-use disposable needles and tubes (long bar 9RL for the most part). I do think the vaseline might be the problem. One of my artists I go to said he lathers it up till it glistens so I have been a bit heavy handed with it I will try cutting the amount I use and also the damp paper towel pat!

I don't understand where you'd get the debris from. Quality paper towels won't flake or fall apart after a few wipes. Well at least mine doesn't. So you either have a buildup of vaseline and ink, or you're damaging the tubes and are scraping some plastic off.

I use 9RL's and they clog pretty easy when there's too much vaseline. I use almost no vaseline because I don't like to glide all over the place It's just a barrier, nothing more.

balooka said:

I don't understand where you'd get the debris from. Quality paper towels won't flake or fall apart after a few wipes. Well at least mine doesn't. So you either have a buildup of vaseline and ink, or you're damaging the tubes and are scraping some plastic off.

I use 9RL's and they clog pretty easy when there's too much vaseline. I use almost no vaseline because I don't like to glide all over the place It's just a barrier, nothing more.

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I was originally thinking dust particles off the paper towel since I was using them dry but I will try way less vaseline and take a pic if the problem persists! I just want the vaseline to make the stencil stay but I will be as stingy as possible with it.

Thank you for your advice!

different body areas have a huge impact on needle penetration and ink saturation, are you sure it's these particles that are the problem and your not just barking up the wrong tree? If it is due to clogging i find normally a good washout sorts it, but if it's vaseline that won't wash off because it repels water, so like balloka says, only use a tiny bit.

I use a simple practice that i picked up from Adrian, dip and run in clean water with a touch of green soap in every so often and wipe with paper towel to stop debris or vaseline build up, it only takes a second or so to do and worth it.

Sounds like an issue I ran into and it was vaseline/ointment build up. Also, make sure you are using Bounty paper towels. Costco and Aldi have store brands that are similar quality so you could use those too but Bounty isnt that expensive and it holds up way better than the cheaper paper towels.

Hi! Newby here…..I’m about a year into my journey. This is an old question but figured I would comment in case anyone else went on the wild goose chase I did. I noticed the same issue but only when I was using transfer paper for stenciling my work. As recommended I let my stencil dry thoroughly before removing it. This was leaving behind tiny fragments of stencil paper over my stencil. Even if I tried scratching it off it was gunking up my needle and I found myself rinsing more often than I would have if I new better than to buy mid grade transfer paper. I ended up buying a different brand of stencil paper and have not had the issue since…also I use Vaseline super sparingly if I use it at all. Sometimes green soap and water is the best way to go. Depends on the piece I’m doing. Hope this helped.