George,
The illness is making something rusty crusty into something beautiful.
NOS mechanical items that I have encountered in my two frame off projects seemed to be painted with a thin lacquer that largely wore off in the box. I was satisfied with glass bead, followed by rattle can primer and finished with rattle can semi-gloss black. Infinitely superior to how it was originally done and easy to touch up, if need be. Certain items were powder coated as I don't have the equipment to media blast a frame and some things like steering column (where your feet hit it every time you get in the truck) wear better if powder coated. Your level of restoration is off the charts and I salute you!
Kent
