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 15+ seconds, and then you see a FAINT, faint pink on the cotton swab. It's very subtle.<br /><br />It 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're 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're doing it right.<br /><br />Also, this seems to release ammonia gas when the solutions are mixed, so use in a well-ventilated area, and don't put your face right over the swab or item being tested or you'll get a whiff of ammonia in your nose/eyes.<br /><br />As 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.