While I'm waiting for a few things to arrive for the '52 Raleigh, I've been lazily sanding away at a few rust spots that, honestly, in the desert Southwest would probably have been fine as was for decades. Now I have a good portion of the top tube down to bare metal. Normally I touch-up with nail polish, but I don't think that will work here.

I'm tempted to have the frame builder who will be working on the rear dropout powder coat it for me, but I'm worried about little things like the headbadge and the braze-ons for the pulley and chaincase. Would a powder coated be able to mask those, or would I have to, with the headbadge, trust him to remove and reinstall it? (His frame price is $275 for the frame and fork. The whole project is way over the budget for it, but I can't decide if it's a what the hell or a whoa there financial issue.)

It already has a layer of spray paint, and I'm fine with it that way. I'm thinking about giving it a coat of rustoleum, calling it temporary, and then most likely living with it until I'm too old to ride. Most of the paint is good enough for me, and I'm trying to get it into nice running order, not necessarily a fancy restoration.

What are the best options?