You need a thick layer of newspaper to hold a good bit of the vinegar so it doesn't dry out too fast, wrap it good and give it a good soaking after you wire wheel it.
You must neutralize the acid with baking soda and water with a fresh water rinse once its reasonably clean then dry it.
Prime with self etching primer, rattle cans work okay but I like a 2 part epoxy with a spray gun if possible.
Once is clean, dry and primed use chip guard on it. NAPA has good stuff in rattle cans cheap enough, the part # for black is MS 4004. If its clean and dry and primed this stuff will hang in there forever, it is hard to remove and really resist rocks and stone damage.
Coat it well with a couple of coats and let it dry. Once its dry cover that with 3M 03584 rubberized undercoating, let it dry well overnight before reassembly. It wont rust even in the salt belt, care of application is everything.