Modern Vespa

So I gave my clutch basket to a neighbour to weld a band onto it and the holes I'd drilled in between the rivets (from Freak Moped's tutorial on strengthening a clutch for a tuned engine) and the knobhead left it outside and it got rained on. There's some rust on the welds now
I sprayed the shit out of it with wd-40 right away now asking what I should do with the thing; paint it? Smear it with grease? Leave it alone and stfu?

I wouldn't paint it as any paint that flakes off is going to get in your gears/seals. I'd get a wire wheel and hit the rust and install. The oil bath will keep it preserved.

Oh so you've seen my paintwork

Good advice. I'll wire wheel the rust that's there - it's just a bit of surface rust, clean it and sit it in some gear oil until I reinstall the clutch.

Big thanks.

You could soak it in a bowl of white vinegar, since your not in a hurry give it a day or two.

Good call- thanks for the input. I used the wire wheel last night and it came off easy peasy.