1. SMITH PRECIOUS METALS COMPANY
Preliminary Operating Instructions for
EURO GOLD® IBS DECORATIVE ACID GOLD PROCESS
The EURO GOLD® IBS series of acid gold processes is designed to meet the most stringent
requirements for nickeless gold plating, while maintaining the capability to produce corrosion
resistant deposits from 18 karat to 24 karat in color. Deposits produced from the EURO GOLD®
IBS are consistently bright, uniform, and can be plated over 100ì" in thickness.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF DEPOSIT
Purity 97-99%
Deposit weight for 1 micron thickness 1.86 mg/cm2
12.0 mg/in2
Deposit weight for 2.5 micron thickness 4.65 mg/cm2
(100 microinches) 30.0 mg/in2
SOLUTION COMPOSITION
Nominal Range
Gold Content 0.5 oz/gal 0.20 - 1 oz/gal
(4 g/l) (1.6 - 8 g/l)
Alloy Content Varies with color requirements. Consult
Smith Precious Metals Company.
pH 4.0 3.8 - 4.7
Specific Gravity 12 baume' 10 - 25 baume'
SPMC revised 7/93

2. ELECTROLYTE OPERATING CONDITIONS
Nominal Range
Temperature 110F 90 - 130F
Cathode Current Density 10 ASF 1 - 40 ASF
Plating Rate 35 mg/AM 24 - 45 mg/AM
(6ì"/min.) (4 - 8ì"/min.)
Anode to Cathode Ratio 2 to 1 or higher
Agitation Uniform, vigorous solution agitation.
EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
Heaters Quartz, teflon, and titanium. Note: Use of
stainless steel may contaminate electrolyte with nickel.
Tanks Polypropylene, CPVC, Teflon, glass, unfilled
PVC, and plexiglass. Avoid materials or
equipment of epoxies, polyurethanes,
polyesters, and polycarbonates to prevent
electrolyte decomposition.
Rectifiers Sized sufficiently to produce the necessary
direct current, with less than 5% ripple.
Anodes Use platinized titanium or platinized niobium.
Note: Use of stainless steel anodes will cause
nickel contamination of the plating bath, and
subsequent failure of deposits to meet DMG swab
test for nickel free status.
Filtration Continuous filtration using 10ì Dynel or
Polypropylene filter tubes.
Bus Bars High grade stainless steel.

3. MATERIALS FOR SOLUTION CONTROL AND REPLENISHMENT
Gold content - EURO GOLD® IBS gold salts are sold as dry salts in 1, 5, and 10 troy ounce
containers. Gold replenishment should be made at the approximate rate of one troy ounce every
600 AM.
Alloy content - This is maintained by additions of EURO GOLD® IBS Brightener. This is sold
as a liquid and and is replenished at the rate of approximately 25 milliliters for every troy ounce of
gold added to the bath.
pH control - This is accomplished by using EURO GOLD® IBS Base salts to raise the pH and
EURO GOLD® IBS Acid Salts to lower the pH. Note: At no time should sulfuric acid or caustic
be used for pH adjustment.
Specific Gravity - The specific gravity is raised by the addition of EURO GOLD® IBS
Conducting Salts. These are a blend of salts formulated specifically for use in the EURO
GOLD® IBS process. A general rule of thumb is one pound of Conducting Salts will raise the
specific gravity of ten gallons of solution, one degree baume'.
® Registered trademark of Smith Precious Metals Company
SMITH PRECIOUS METALS COMPANY
131 Bellows Street
Warwick, Rhode Island 02888
Telephone (401) 467-5025
Fax (401) 461-1740