Polishing previously rusted surfaces?

I got a lathe that had surface rust and dried grease staining on the bed ways. There is no pitting to speak of but they look terrible in their stained condition.
A metal polish (like old-fashioned Liberty polish) doesn't remove metal (because it has an abrasive that's not strong
enough, the grains just... break). That'd get the finish back to something that holds oil uniformly. Rouge and a cotton wheel
is another safe combination (but not emery; don't reuse the cotton wheel unless you know it wasn't used with other compounds).
 
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