Ryan says, and I agree..
"I don't think I have ever seen anti-oxidant compound used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, which typically require the use of a wire brush."
But, I always put the anti-oxidant on a tooth brush sized wire brush (scratch brush) and work it into the conductors. It breaks the oxidation layer and works the compound into the individual strands.
Whether or not it helps I don't know (I believe it does), but I've seen several failures at meter sockets where a small dab of no-alox was just squeezed onto the conductor without spreading it.
It takes less than 30 seconds for each wire and seems to result in a "better job".
