Contacts restoration

[zmaster]

Hello,

I've got a robot vacuum cleaner that has 2 metal plates at its bottom that make contact on the home station for recharging.
After a couple of years the robot would struggle to dock correctly due to poor electrical contact, it had to try several times.
I've replaced them with (expensive) new ones that proved to be of mediocre quality because after less than a year I'm back with the same problem.


The plate on the right is very scratched, the other one is mostly ok.

So, I was wondering if anyone knows of a way to restore the contacts finish. Is there some magic product that can be simply applied that makes a nice new conductive coating on top of the metal or would I have to go through a proper gold-plating or nickel-plating?

I'm looking for a cost effective solution as the robot is already a bit old. I also need to replace the battery and brushes, so I'm on the edge of buying a new one.

[MarkF]

I typically buff them with a No.2 pencil eraser and then clean with 90% Isopropyl alcohol.
You can also try contact cleaner if you have some on hand.