I know I will probably get jumped on by someone here, I'm certain that there are other methods, maybe I just have too heavy a hand to use steel wool. For removing light surface rust, I use a carpenters pencil to card off the rust, wipe off, then oil. The graphite will not cause any scratching, no matter how much karate kid, wax on wax off, you use.
P.S. For those of you who would like to jump.... Please try it first, I think you will be pleasntly surprised!
A very wise man once told me, "If you haven't change a major opinion in the last three years.... check your pulse, you might be dead."