If I have to get somewhere in the rain... is there something I can apply ahead of time to keep it from absorbing any water?

I am sure the last person cared about this bike a lot. When I removed the reflecter from the front I found that the previous owner wrapped what looks like surgical tape on the handle bar to keep it from getting scratched. There are a few small scrapes, a little rust on the chain gaurd, and a lot of gunk in hard to reach places

So would you say this is a decent bike? or just cool looking?