That's right, it never sleeps and as long as it has moisture, and the dissolved oxygen that is in the water, then the process continues. If paint or wax or whatever was "perfect", that is it completely sealed off the rust, then the rust would be starved of "fuel" and the oxidizing would be arrested. Problem is, none of these coatings are perfect, they all have microscopic pores or they wear away or develop tiny cracks...and then the moisture/oxygen finds it's way in to feed the monster...shudder! Best bet is to remove it as COMPLETELY as possible, apply a chemical neutralizer (like phosphoric acid) and coat as thoroughly as you can, I guess a powder coat would probably be a better barrier than most common paints...then maintain the paint by waxing as often as needed to keep it protected from water intrusion. Or you just have to embrace the process and learn to love the slow death that is rust...