Originally Posted by
knoregs
Oxalic acid does the trick on rust. I like Simple Green for cleaning/degreasing. PB Blaster is great for stuck parts/nuts/bolts. It also works great for cleaning the really grimy stuff, though not a very cost effective solvent. Meguiar's ScratchX 2.0 works great on the paint. Mothers Mag & aluminum polish for the aluminum stuff.
~kn
EDIT... Didn't mean to parrot you Bob
indeed Oxalic acid makes a nice derusting bath, but for light rust pimples and polishing chrome, I really like Chromax Metal Polish..a nontoxic paste and old faithful triple '0' steel wool. I don't know where i'd be without PB Blaster and I recently discovered Simple Green. lovely stuff. I have an assortment of brushes from the hardware store, including a few kitchen brushes. For making shiny shiny, i use paste and liquid turtle waxes to put a final finish on the beast.