Cleaning and Maintenance of Connections.....

there's a copper cleaning gel containing Hydrofluoric Acid that works miracles.

Hmmm. Its been a long damn time since HS chemistry, but IIRC, hydroflouric acid is extremely corrosive (eats thru glass) and dangerous to handle. I know that you know what you are doing, Albert, but for non chemically savvy 'phile, here is what Wikipedia says:

Water solutions (hydrofluoric acid) are a contact-poison with the potential for deep, initially painless burns, with later tissue death. By interfering with body calcium metabolism, the concentrated acid may also cause systemic toxicity and eventual cardiac arrest and fatality, after contact with as little as 160 cm2 (24.8 square inches) of skin.

. That's about 5" x 5".

As with all things, it's concentration that matters.e

Agreed. With HFl, I would CONCENTRATE real hard on making sure I didn't get any on myself or the metalwork on my gear.

Albert- Not to worry. No big deal. I am sure you are correct; it just raised my eyebrows cause I remembered an old medical show on TV where somebody spilled a bottle of HFl, it ate thru the floor and some poor bastard got a bunch of it on his arm. It's kinda like radiation poisoning, no immediate pain. By the time he found out what it was he was doomed. There is no antidote and the changes to your body's calcium metabolism are irreversible. They were able to give him morphine to control the pain when it hit, but they had to tell him that he was gonna die w/in 24 hrs. It freaked me out then and it still does.

BTW, just because something is safe to use in an industrial setting (even in the food industry) does not mean that you necessarily want to be getting it on your skin. I know that as a photographer you know how to use chemicals safely but not everyone does. As for me, the safety nanny will now keep her mouth shut ;~)