works with a little elbow grease faint results [SEP] you really have to work at this to make sure you get a result and you must be careful that you got equal amounts of each solution on the cotton swab i accidentally got too much of solution b and got a negative result on something i knew had nickel also you have to really rub hard for seconds and then you see a faint faint pink on the cotton swab it is very subtleit would have been helpful if the makers included something to use as a positive control something that contained nickel so you could see what a positive test looks like and know what you are looking for while testing unknown items i highly suggest that users find their own positive control find something you know has nickel and test that to see the pink and know you are doing it rightalso this seems to release ammonia gas when the solutions are mixed so use in a well ventilated area and do not put your face right over the swab or item being tested or you will get a whiff of ammonia in your nose eyesas it turns out real surgical grade stainless steel does test negative for nickel and i tried really really hard to get a result on that one i was using this test kit to double check my earring making components to make sure there was no nickel content for making hypoallergenic earrings again i highly recommend using a positive control and perhaps a negative non nickel control as well to make sure your results are real and valid