Sterilizing HELP!!!

Hey Guys, The name is john, I am a combat medic with the first cavalry division, currently deployed. I have been drawing my whole life and finnally decided to give tattooing a shot when i get home. I have a strong base of knowledge of the subject and have done my fair share of homework. Before I ever bought a Machine, power unit or even one rubberband! I bought a autoclave and a ultrasonic cleaner. As a medic Sterilizing and viruse or lack of mean more to me than anything, and judging by all the reading material in magazines and internet sites, sterilizing is the difference between having a good or a bad reputation in tattooing. So anyway due to the fact some really knowledgeable artist have put some very useful info on here im hoping you can help me out. Apologies if these questions are retarded but better safe than sorry. First All these stainless Tubes and tips and grips, are they reusable if you clean and sterilize them. How do blister packs work..What are they. what can you put in them, what can you sterilize. what can you reuse what is the quality of disposable tip grips and tubes. are they recommended? what is an ultrasonic cleaner mostly used for in the tattoo industry? Thankyou guys so much for helping me out with any information you can provide. I will check this regularly.

Hey John, this would be considered a technical question and won't be answered by any professionals on here. It's good that you understand the importance of sterility and the prevention of cross contamination and while that being a major difference between the pros and the scratchers, that isn't all that sets them apart. Tattooing is a very technical art and learning these things can't be taught in any tattoo magazine, or be learned by watching a Joshua Carlton DVD. The only real way to learn how to tattoo is to get an apprenticeship in a licensed shop, and one you DON'T have to pay for. If it's something you really want to explore you have to: A) Bust your ass drawing and redrawing B) Hang out in some tattoo shops C) Draw some more D) Try to get an apprenticeship I'm not trying to discourage you but this is how it's done. Sure people can hack up their friends in the living room, or swap Hep C with the client sitting on their couch, but they'll never know the real/right way to tattoo. Furthermore, doing it the right way is much much more satisfying than just trying to be cool and thinking you're an artist because you bought a "gun" on ebay. I know this doesn't answer your technical questions but I hope it helps you understand some shit. Cheers.

Thanks Coffin, I guess? Im sorry but I didnt think these were too technicall of question, Nearly every tattoo supply site ive seen sells all the stuff i asked about.. I just dont know how to use it. Hence the reason i asked question. Apologies if this offends you but you dont sound very expierienced in tattooing yourself. You couldnt answer what blister packs are for, what you sterilize, what you can reuse, or if disposables are decent or not yes i realize some of these questions are preference but common,. Maybe its iggnorance on my part but i thought these were semi -easy questions to any practicing tattoo artist. Thankyou for looking....... PS. as far as drawing I have approximately 4200 drawings since i was 5 years old Every single one saved, Plus i have 9 tattoos myself, I just never payed attention to the tecnicall part of the questions i ask. And if I were home instead of fighting a war, I would ask my artist, but like every other soldier out here im trying to expend my long ass 15 months I have here in this god forsaken country... THANKS AGAIN.

Without being rude the above poster is very right. I cant believe, as a combat medic, you just asked if "stainless", is reusable and how do blister packs work? Even taking an educated guess you would probably get it right. The only thing I can suggest is to Google sterilizing or autoclave and see what it says, and good luck.

PYRO, First, if you had done your homework, this should have been one of the first things you learned about as it pertains to tattooing. Info on sterilization and safety is one part of tattooing that is not usually kept secret. The reason why your questions weren't answered isn't because the person isn't knowledgable but because you're not in a shop serving an apprenticeship. You have a shitty, defensive attitude and there are plenty of legit reasons why many people aren't serving an apprenticeship. Don't act like a martyr. You're not special and that doesn't change the fact that you are not learning the proper way. I'm not necessarily against being self-taught if each aspect is taken very seriously, however, this is the reason why pros aren't willing to hand out information. Even though your questions are technical, they have to do with proper methods of safety, so I see no harm in answering them. Someone delete my post if I am out of line. "All these stainless Tubes and tips and grips, are they reusable if you clean and sterilize them. " Yes, you must scrub them and ultrasonic them (to clean them) and then bag (self-sealing sterile pouches) and sterilize them with a steam heat autoclave. You also need to spore test your autoclave. Google that. If you aren't abe to do that where you are, use disposables. "How do blister packs work..What are they. what can you put in them, what can you sterilize. what can you reuse" Pre-made, sterile needles usually come in blister packs. Needles can NEVER be resused. "what is the quality of disposable tip grips and tubes. are they recommended?" See above. If you can't autoclave or can't spore test your autoclave, use disposables. "what is an ultrasonic cleaner mostly used for in the tattoo industry?" An ultrasonic does nothing more than clean your instruments. A sonic in NO WAY makes it okay for you to reuse anything that comes out of it. Having said all of that, you being away does not make it ok for you to tattoo without proper training. My advice is to put your gear down and spend you off-time learning as much you can about tattooing and safety. Get certified and well read in BBP (bloodborne pathogens), first aid and CPR. Learn as much as you can about cleaning, disinfection and sterilization as it pertains to tattooing. Keep working on your artwork. Study tattoo history and all of the insanely talented artists on this site. Take your machines and really get to know them - take them apart and put them back topgether. This sounds silly but practice applying stencils - it can be tricky. Do anything but tattoo. Then by the time you get home you will have your shit together in order for you to obtain an apprenticeship and the proper training.

Ok, Inksane, THANKYOU... You summed most all of it up for me... By the way.. Im in Iraq and ive never touched a single tattoo machine.. And trust me I dont plan on touching any skin for a long time... These questions were just my curious questions that I had a hard time understanding from www.howstuffworks.website. or other websites that were genaric on autoclaves and sterilizers. In no website have I found yet that shows how to prepare a blister pack...same goes for dvd how toos, I have 3 dvds and they dont show either, they show an autoclave but just scrapes the surface with that subject. And as far as the dipshit who is throwing the fact that im a combat medic?... THATS RIGHT IM A "COMBAT" MEDIC. Not a fu$#ing combat surgeon!!!! I DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT BLISTER PACKS...I ADMIT IT!! I tourniquet legs, and arms that get blown off from I.E.Ds on a regular basis, And when there is an arterial bleed, I could care less about how sterile the torniquet or anything else i apply is. I already said Ive never tat before and "apologized" for the dumb sounding questions, But some sites make it sound like $15 stainless steel grips are not reusable.. yes I know this is near common sense..."ITS STAINLESS" but i asked it anyway, Anyway Inksane... Thankyou so much, Youve been a huge help.

PYRO!! First of all, let me personally THANK YOU for an outstanding job you are doing in IRAQ, my friend, or BROTHER, as I should call you since I was a combat medic (91A10) in Operation Desert Storm!!! You ROCK, bro!! Second, I can't compliment Inksane for giving you some pretty sound advice. The only thing I can add to his comments is the ultra sonic cleaner. A good ultra sonic cleaner, along with the added heater feature, will break up all ink and blood that has accumulated on a tube, tip, needle so you can reuse them (except the needles). Never EVER reuese a needle for any reason whatsoever! As a combat medic, we learned, probably at Fort Sam Houston what blood borne pathogens and CPR are all about, so this topic should be a no brainer for you! As for the rest of what Inksane adviced you on, yes, when you get back, check out your local tattoo shops and see if a good artist will take you under their wing and give you some good, sound training on what seems to be something I think you would be very, very good at! If you are in the Lansing, Michigan area, it would be my pleasure to show you the ropes!! Take care, my man, keep your head low and may God bless you and protect you as you protect those who serve us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOPS! Correction on what I said above, "I can't compliment Inksane ENOUGH on what he said!" Sorry, typo, you know! Inksane rocks, too!!! Peace!

Just to add, if you do ever manage to get an apprenticeship, leave your attitude at the door.

Dave, No offense, but when you've had to gather pieces of your buddies and put them in body bags, have to patch up people as bullets whiz by you, not knowing whether your going to see the light of day from one moment to the next, you would develop something of an attitude as well. Now let's get back to talking tattoos!

viperman.... ive been talking tattooing all along, the army has nothing to do with this subject matter, and to be honest I do find it strange that a medic doesnt know anything about sterilization, is it not reasonable to believe that a medic would have a better than general understanding than most other people? that is not an unreasonable assumption. Really im the last person that will pour scorn on the forces which this thread isnt about, so lets not turn it into that. Having said all that i totally agree that the above poster could have easily googled sterilization and found out a wealth of information, more than we could go into on a forum, not hard - especially for a medic. come to think of it why doesnt he ask his peers? surely a field hospital would utilize autoclaves and related items, and have the people to use them. no doubt there'll be a reason why not...

Viperman, You sound like one amazing dude, And honestly If I hadnt been away so long, and not going on my second christmas away from my wife and family in a row, I would haul ass up to michigan and meet you. Dave my apologies for coming off rude, or with any attitude. I just get pissed when people think that cause im a medic I automatically know about sterilizing and stuff, But thats why im on here, sucking in all this valuable information. Once again my attitude is at the door, But trust me when I go ouside the wire. YOU BET YOUR ASS IM GONNA PICK IT BACK UP-, Anyway,Viperman so you were a medic? Thats awesome, the just chhanged it from 91W to 68W, As soon As we get back to Ft. Hood Texas Im transfering to 1st Air Cavalry, to take on a flight medic position. So as far as going under ones wing as an apprentice this could be tough, My days are pretty long, But Im one determined artist,And i plan to make the best of it, If you would like to see some of my drawings ive done since ive been deployed here is my blog my family set up for me. copy/ paste http://blogginforjohn.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-11-24T04%3A53%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=7 tell me what you think?

PS at the bottom of the blog click "OLDER POST" too see them

By the way Pyro, I don't want you to think I was being rude, I was only following the rules of the forum which is any technical questions won' t be answered. And in this day and age, anything we can do to prevent scratchers we'll do. And I am a tattoo artist, and I did have an apprenticeship, and I am licensed, certified and insured. I also know how to sterilize things, all about BBP's and I also know how blister packs work. So maybe next time you can leave the condescending remarks out of your posts.

I think some lines got crossed here when speaking about attitudes, so I just wanted to pipe in and at least clear things up from my perspective. PYRO, First know that I am saying this to help you, not to nit-pick. Your attitude first showed up in your first reply to coffins when you accused him of not knowing his shit. This was before any of the Combat Medic talk came into play. I feel the need to mention this because in this industry, attitude and respect are just as key as the health/technical/artistic aspects of the trade. If an artist is willing to share anything with you, even just scraps, feast on them. Do not bite the hand that feeds you, even if it's just a little bit. Keep your mouth closed and your ears opened and politely say thank you. Then, take those scraps and research the hell out of them. If a tattoo artist doesn't want to answer your specific technical questions, there are usually very good reasons for that. Instead of getting huffy that coffins did not tell you what you wanted to hear, look at what he did offer you - good, sound advice that you NEEDED to hear - and that you need to understand before getting the answers to your specific questions. A pro will almost never help someone who wants to learn outside of a traditional apprenticeship. And, frankly, I'm surprised at how willing they are to give someone such sound advice on how to get an apprenticeship - because at this time, there just is no room for the amount of people who want to become apprentices. You really need to bring the best of every part of you in order to succeed in this industry today and that includes a good attitude. Gina :)

Dave, I agree! Kudos to you and let's keep this good medic in check with his dream!