I discovered a product from when I had a Triumph Vitesse. This car had a few crusty bits and I tried a biodegradable deruster called deox-c produced by Bilt Hamber. Mix with water and drop the steel bit in and it really does seem to work! I have used it to clean other metals too.
Sensible people wear nitrile rubber gloves when working on their bikes and so avoid not only getting their hands wet, but keep all that other nasty stuff off them too. That's my top cleaning (and pretty much any other kind of work on a bike or car) tip
The cheaper vinyl or latex gloves are awful, don't bother with them.