(ET) E15 looks less like a rolling junk pile, rust remediation?

[CZ <cz alembic crystel com>]

So this poor little E15 which was buried in leaves and debris for 
decades before being rescued is looking a tad bit more like a tractor.

Today I put on the fender for the passenger side to see how it looks and 
to stabilize the passenger side footrest. These were old fenders bought 
at salvage. And darn, that side of the tractor now looks kind of like, 
well more like a tractor...

The driver's side (with the brake) is a bit more complex. This was the 
side buried in wet leaves, and the side that badly rotted. The frame has 
been rebuilt with angle iron, but that foot rest is completely gone 
where it would have connected to the fender. No biggie, I have a new 
foot rest cut from another tractor, so I will cut this one off and 
bolt/weld the new one in place, then put on that side.

However this makes the thing look more like it wants love. So the big 
question is how do I get all the rust off the frame? Oddly enough I 
could take it pretty much apart quickly (remove the transmission, motor, 
lift, battery box, front panels, and front wheels and you will pretty 
much have just the steering box on the frame and the wires) but then 
what? Remove the wires and everything? Or should I just knock the 
paint/rust off it and POR15 the whole darn thing?

Or just let nature finish the job someday? This weekend I have a new 
shift knob coming, I'll see if I can get it back into the high gears, 
then will take off the resistors and hook the lift to 36 volts. At which 
time it could become a full lawn mowing capable tractor, freeing the E20 
to do the heavy stuff (and go into the shed)....

Chris