This information serves as general guidance. You must always refer to the specific Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for your product for the precise regulatory requirements applicable to your setup. These are provided with your purchase via email. It is important that customers receive and retain this information for their records, if you do not receive your email or require a resend, please let us know.
Professional vs General Public Use Products
- Professional Use Only: Some products in our range are strictly restricted to Professional Users. These items are clearly demarcated in red type at the end of the product description page, with a prompt to read the Technical Specs section. Do not purchase these items unless you satisfy all requirements in full. Our policy relating to these items can be read on our Professional Use Policy page.
- General Public Use: Items not marked as restricted are suitable for general use. However, these products may still carry hazard labels and must be responsibly used, stored, and disposed of as instructed.
Best Practice for Your Workshop
To remain aligned with evolving industry benchmarks for handling mineral mists and professional-grade solutions, here are our "Best Practice" recommendations. We want our plating community to have the same safety information as high-end professional laboratories.
For Frequent/Professional Use:
For all plating tasks, we recommend the use of Nitrile gloves, clothing, eye protection and a suitable mask. For all plating jobs, ensure adequate ventilation—use an extractor or have a desk fan moving air away from your workspace toward an open window. For those plating regularly or utilizing our professional-grade ranges (including Gold, Rose Gold, Zinc, Nickel, and Aluminium Prep), a fitted P3/FFP3 mask is the baseline standard for protecting your breathing zone from mineral mists.
Higher risk Workflows (Acid & Gold Proximity):
- Stainless Steel and Nickel Activators
- Copper Strike and Copper Plating solutions
- The Rinsing Protocol: To drastically reduce the risk of chemical cross-contamination, workpieces must be thoroughly rinsed with clean, deionised (DI) water between every chemical stage. We strongly advocate using a pressure spray bottle to thoroughly flush the workpiece over a waste container; this ensures fresh, uncontaminated water is always used. If you prefer using rinse dips, you must employ a two-stage rinse (two separate containers of DI water in sequence), as a single dip container can accumulate acid carryover and transfer it directly into your gold solutions.
- The Technical Risk: Even at low concentrations, bringing acids into contact with gold / rose gold plating solutions containing potassium dicyanoaurate / sodium gold sulfite creates a risk of hazardous gas formation through cross-contamination.
- The Standard: A standard P3 mask only filters particles; an ABEK-P3 filter (refer to your specific SDS for ABEK1 vs ABEK2 requirements) provides the necessary gas-capture layer required for professional-grade safety.
Electroforming:
Due to the high acid content in copper plating solutions and the long dwell times involved, an ABEK1-P3 Combined Filter is the mandatory standard for all electroforming processes to protect against both acid vapours and potential gas formation.
Creating a Professional Environment:
We recommend that high-concentration professional formulations (such as Zinc, Nickel, and Aluminium-prep, which are reactive/caustic) and tank setups exceeding 1 Litre are restricted to a dedicated workspace. This ensures the robust handling protocols detailed in their respective SDS can be maintained.
Universal Safety Baseline - Products NOT marked as Professional Only Use:
For all solutions in our range, we recommend that users always follow a "Safety-First" approach. Always prioritise the PPE requirements listed in Section 8 of your product’s SDS. If a product carries a hazard warning on the label, a fitted P3/FFP3 mask is the absolute minimum standard; however, if you are working with acids and gold/rose gold in the same sequence, a gas-rated ABEK filter is the professional requirement.
Please note: This applies to all gold/rose gold solutions used alongside acids, including those classed as cyanide free. These risks are inherent to the chemistry of all plating solutions containing potassium dicyanoaurate (in professional use gold solutions), or sodium gold sulfite (commonly used in cyanide free gold solutions), regardless of the manufacturer or supplier. Using alternative brands, or pairing our strikes or other acidic solutions (such as copper) with third-party gold solutions, does not eliminate these chemical hazards.
Responsible Disposal & Environmental Stewardship
Our solutions must be disposed of with professional care to comply with UK Environmental Law.
Zero-Drain Policy
Never dispose of spent plating solutions, rinse water, or residues down household drains or into the public sewer system.
Storage
Used solutions should be collected in clearly labelled, chemically compatible containers stored in a locked cupboard out of reach of children and pets.
Disposal
Professional workshops must use a licensed hazardous waste carrier. Hobbyist users should contact their Local Authority Waste Disposal centre to find a facility that accepts "household hazardous waste" or chemical residues.
Further Information
We provide this advice as part of our commitment to your success and safety. Should you require any further advice, we are always happy to help.
