cleaning the pins of NOS tubes...bad idea?

I'm not a tube old-timer, but I clean my tube pins with either Caig Pro gold, Flitz, or whatever appropriate product at hand. I then apply a thin layer of contact enhancer, in this case Sil-clear, fine silver paste to insure best contact. As elsewhere in electronics, clean, tight, connections are job one in trouble free use of audio equipment. Do use clean hands or gloves when handling your tubes, however.

Regards,
Dan

It isn't a bad idea to clean the pins from time to time. Hopefully the market will go towards creating tubes with gold-plated pins:-)

For heavy oxidation, I use a dremel fitting with a polishing wheel and jeweler's polishing rouge. Use a very light touch.

It is a good idea to make the contact as clean and smooth as possible, the above ideas are good. I recall that Andy Bouwman also sands the pins in the tubes that he sells.

Caig has a brand new product out that is specifically designed for this type of cleaning. I received an e-mail from Music Direct the other day that showcased this cleaner. Just do a search for Caig on the music direct site and you'll find it. I think its $40 or so.