Originally Posted by
SteveH
I second X's comments. (except the Shellac part, although I would never use it on shiny metal)
The act of polishing reduces the surface area and removes most of the micro crevasses where moisture stays and rust starts. Once polished they are actually much more rust resistant then unpolished metal
I have the faceplate and bobbin plates cleaned and polished, but the're still pitted. Will experiment more with the dremel tomorrow. I think I have to go more abrasive - I was just using the cloth padded wheel and jeweler's rouge, then escalated to a scratchy sponge/loufah-like wheel, but there is much more to do. I keep trying Simichrome and Mothers in between to see if anything starts to shine. It's much better, but I don't like the pits and they seem too deep to truly polish out.