Are we talking about the shiny hub bodies? Not the dial and cover? The hub body is steel with a thick and durable chrome plating. Most of them are still shiny after 30 years of neglect. I've seen some with light rust speckling. Nothing will reliably stick to the chrome so you'll have to chemically remove it. Once you do that I doubt anything will stand up to rust as well as the chrome. Also, without the chrome plating on the inside, the clutch that actually moves back and forth might not slide as well. Not sure if that's a valid concern.
What are you actually trying to accomplish here?
