Rust on tape heads

I guess I should have been more specific, and say that 3M company makes a line of abrasives that use the scotchbrite technology but are MUCH finer, (10000 grit or so I think is the bottom end, I don't use anything finer than 1800) and these have supplanted most of the bar substances in the machine shop, I routinely use this stuff to remove the last part of that 1/10000" of an inch on a high spot the grinder missed, I certianly wouldn't endorse a pot scrubber (unless perhaps the heads had been uncovered, in a backyard for 15 years and it might work) but have seen some pretty scary things done with surface-plate honing too. I suppose at some level this gets into the individual owner vs museum debate where many of the things we do to old computers shouldn't be done by other than trained professionals, supremely confidant in the execution of the delicate task of restoring these increasingly rare artifacts, but if the individuals hadn't been doing this, how many of these machines would still be around? I'd like to have my packs professionally cleaned and certified, etc but with it costing $2000 to have a servo written, who can afford it? actually, this reminds me of baking-soda blasting for microfinishing and rust removal, I wonder if this is still done? Pavl_