I use Evaporust -- I find that does a tremendous job of removing rust. Rusty metal turns into a dark gunmetal grey. If it's rusted chrome, pitting will still be present (it doesn't actually restore chrome), but any rust is either removed or made super easy to scratch off.

I should have taken before and after pictures of a set of MAFAC Racers I cleaned up this week. The aluminum was fairly oxidized (dull-looking) and all of the steel parts were covered with rust. The chromed bolts were pretty clean already, but everything turned out great.