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what I want to do is tinning the contacts with a soldering iron
I would be afraid of melting/burning the plastic around it. Also I am not sure how stable and healthy/allergic is solder - it is not just Sn but other metals (possibly even lead) and also flux and other chemicals. Also tin is relatively soft and may oxidize too.
fanoush-
I would be afraid of melting/burning the plastic around it.
I will apply the solder with solder wick, not directly with the soldering iron. I know I could cause some damage to the plastic, but the problem is that the watch is not charging anymore.
Also I am not sure how stable and healthy/allergic is solder - it is not just Sn but other metals (possibly even lead) and also flux and other chemicals. Also tin is relatively soft and may oxidize too.
The solder is lead-free. I will clean the flux after the work and I'm going to start using the silicone cover, not only to protect my skin, but also to reduce oxidation as much as possible.
As I said, nickel-gold plating would be ideal, but I don't think I'm going to follow that route.
adjtm
Hi. I have the same problem. I have used mine for running 4 days a week for around a year and a half. I had the two internal contacts covered as sold by Espruino, but it seems the sweat has filtered under it. The charging contacts are also corroded. I thought that the contacts where from a connector and not a PCB, something like this:
https://www.olimex.com/Products/Components/Cables/USB-MAG-4-PCB/
Ideally we should remove the corroded plating to expose the base metal, then make nickel plating and on top of that gold plating. Because buying the chemicals for just four contacts is expensive and the chemicals seem to be pretty nasty, what I want to do is tinning the contacts with a soldering iron. I was going to do it tomorrow, I can record it and upload the video if the contacts make good connection again.