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CYANIDE or CYANIDE FREE GOLD
PLATING SOLUTIONS
A small amount of cyanide is in the basic
gold plating solution along with cobalt to harden the metal deposited onto the surface.
There are several other ways to accomplish
this task. One is to use arsenic. Arsenic is still a poison and requires special
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS packaging and shipping.
Another way to harden the gold can be done
by introducing NICKEL into the gold plating solution. Nickel in the gold plating solution
will harden the gold on the surface, as well as depositing along with the gold and that
can have the effect of giving a fresh mirror finish.
Remember, GOLD always MIRRORS the surface
you deposit it onto. If the base material is a bright reflective surface, the gold you
deposit onto it will give off the bright reflective mirror image. Thee is a negative in
using NICKEL and that is the fact that using NICKEL, which is also a metal, dilutes the
amount of gold.
Pure gold is measured as 24K, or 24 parts
out of 24. This means PURE GOLD. If you put in 10 parts of another metal substance, you
get 14K. 14 parts gold 10 parts of something else. The something else in this instance is to
make the gold harder and sturdy. Most rings are 14K so they will stand up. If you were to
melt down the true 14K ring, 14 parts of the 24 parts would be gold while the rest is
something else.
So, while nickel can harden the gold, it
lowers the K grading.
GOLD PLATING SOLUTIONS usually contain a
small portion of CYANIDE which works with the cobalt to HARDEN the GOLD deposited / bonded
to the surface.
Gold Plating Solutions with CYANIDE,
generally, have a HARDNESS, when deposited/plated on a surface, which is measured in a
system referred to "KNOOP," within the Gold Plating Industry. A range of 150 to
200 knoop is a HARDENED GOLD which is what we provide with the CYANIDE.
CYANIDE FREE GOLD is a product for very
limited gold plating applications, it functions, and or acts, like a pure gold, which is
very soft.
Gold Plating Solutions WITHOUT CYANIDE,
generally, are quite soft, which is measured in "KNOOP," at a range between 50
and 80 knoop, it is considered SOFT GOLD. One tested version came back at 60 knoop.
Some versions of CYANIDE FREE GOLD can ship
without any special packaging and or labeling. However, this particular version is not
used in the Mobile "BRUSH" plating industry. This version is used in some TANK
PLATING applications.
HOW MUCH CYANIDE IS IN THE GOLD PLATING
SOLUTIONS? The amount of cyanide hinges, generally, on the actual amount of gold in the
solution. The actual gold in the gold plating solutions on the market today run from 1/2
an ounce to a gallon up to 4 ounces to a gallon. The average seems to be about 2 ounces to
a gallon.
The gold plating salts come from one of
several companies providing gold to the different distributors serving the Mobile, or
BRUSH, Plating Industry. For each ounce of gold "metal" there is, approximately,
1/2 an ounce of cyanide.
So, in a solution of 2 ounces of gold to a
gallon (a gallon = 128 ounces) there is, potentially one ounce of cyanide. Or, 1/128th of
the whole.
That brings us back to a question of
exactly how much cyanide is there in the average 4 ounce container of gold plating
solution? 1/128th. In simple terms, VERY LITTLE.
To convert the small amount of cyanide in
the gold plating solution to a GAS, the cyanide in the solution must accidentally be mixed
with an ACID, like the Nickel Activator. Obviously, this is not a normal part of the
plating process. Ample rinsing in-between gold plating steps minimizes any problem. Our
Instruction Manual explains this in great detail.
24 Karat Gold is PURE GOLD. If you check
the Karat marks on your gold jewelry and rings, typically shown as 10K, 12K, 14K, etc.,
you will find the standard gold ring is 14 karat. This means, in the ring, there are 14
parts gold and 10 parts of other alloys. Pure gold is soft. The other alloys make the gold
ring hold its shape. A PURE GOLD ring would deform, and wear quite badly, in a short time.
In the mobile electroplating process with
gold plating solutions using cyanide, you use gold with an alloy of other items (including
the cyanide) to produce a hard plating which is durable.
Is CYANIDE FREE GOLD better? We have both
versions available. We are able to look at it in an objective manner and let our customers
decide.
From a practical standpoint, there is very
little cyanide, by volume, in the gold plating solution provided by any vendor of gold
plating solutions with CYANIDE, as we said before. What little cyanide there is, does an
important job of hardening the gold deposit.
It comes down to a question of used and
expected life. The better the bonding and adhesion of the gold along with the harder the
gold is, means the better the gold will look and the gold will last longer.
In our opinion, the BEST VALUE is in the
Gold solution that uses cyanide to harden the deposit of gold. Any additional coatings,
such as wax, will additionally benefit the gold coating image. However, for proper bonding
and depositing, we prefer the gold plating solution with cyanide.
You get to choose what you want.
As a side note, cyanide fumes are
realistically not a problem for most gold platers. First, because of the extremely small
amount of cyanide in the gold plating solution. At 2 ounces of gold to a gallon, is the
cyanide is less than 1/128th of a part of the mixture. Second, because cyanide is held in
suspension within the gold plating solution it is not an issue. With such a limited
amount, contained within the carried solution, cyanide does not get into the air.
A gold plater could accidentally mix the
gold plating solution with cyanide and the NICKEL ACTIVATOR which is an ACID which can
release HYDROGEN CYANIDE GAS. However, as a part of the Gold Plating Manual, we stress the
importance of thorough rinsing in-between the nickel activating step and the gold plating
step. With thorough rinsing, hydrogen cyanide gas fumes, are not an issue.
The really offensive "fumes" come
from as the CHROME STRIPPER FUMES. Ask anyone who has done any Gold Plating. When you
strip the chrome, the chemical fumes from the chrome stripper are noticeable and, to some
extent, are objectionable to some people.
In any event, Gold Plating solutions
"with cyanide" and some "cyanide free" gold plating solutions may be
considered HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. Proper shipping of hazardous materials require special
packaging, labeling, and added expense. Just the same as the chrome stripper and nickel
activator solutions. The main difference is the packaging and labeling.
If you want independent verification, we
strongly urge you to check with UPS and Federal Express. Each shipping company offers a
special Hazardous Materials staff and each company has a Hazardous Materials Inspector at
each shipping terminal. Shipping Hazardous Materials illegally can cause a catastrophe.
Can a person ship hazardous materials
without the special packaging and special labeling? Regrettably, they can. And,
unfortunately, some do.
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