I found this product to work very well for my needs. I used it to change some of my sterling silver earrings to gold (post and hoop styles), so I'm working with smaller pieces of metal. For sure, the longer you keep the jewelry in the solution, the brassier the color becomes, so take it out earlier - you can always add to it. If you do overdo it, immediately use the gold polish solution that is included with the package. That will take about half of it off, and then you can "dip" it again. I also think you need to make sure of the metal you are working with or you will have some of the "black" problems stated earlier.