That's one cool Studpecker, I like it. I am not sure what the Rat Rod boys are doing. I think your on the right track, wipe the heck out of it with prep solvent, scotch bright, and clean again. I would use a low buck clear like PPG Omni and flatten it to your liking.
When you are preping the areas of light rust on the painted surfaces, scotch bright those places with some phosphoric acid, and wipe off with a damp towell and force dry if you need to. That will kill the rust and leave a nice coating for the clear.
Prep and etch at Home Depot is about 15 bux a Gallon. It's in the paint isle.
Clean Stripe Prep and Etch
Now git to work... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
Mike