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Hmm... alkali can invite rust as quick as acid can.
any salt can also help rust get into steel.

Neil has an important point steel is porous and we forget that...

There are three discussions...

+1 on the MAAS+qtip and silica gel.

Also pick up a can of WD-40 and some micro fiber shop rags.
Machine shops, bike shops and sporting goods shops have silicon cloths
that are excellent for this...