R4V3

Hi! I'm a complete n00b here, but I'm trying to do this mod. I've done it a few times now, but it's staying as a NF4 Standard. My contacts don't have epoxy, but I've rubbed them with an eraser a few times and they seem shiny to me. I'm using a (probably 10 yrs old) Eberhard Faber American 2HB pencil. Does it sound like I'm doing anything wrong? I have a circuitwriter pen (the one that you can buy from FrozenCPU), but I'd like to try it with a pencil first to make sure it's stable. Should I skip right to the conductive pen? Thanks in advance.