I've noticed the rust on the Autolite cabinet I keep in the garage seems to be getting worse in the last couple years. I keep it in an attached, finished garage that's insulated, but not heated. Just wondering what I can do to get the rust that's already on there off and prevent any new rust without damaging the original paint?

There's plenty of bump and paint men on here. I had the exact cabinet mid 70s if I remember correctly. I would use 3M Rubbing Compound.The bottle's purple and there's a #1 on it. Maybe these guys can tell me what I have, but it works great on painted metal and porcelain. Electric buffer if you know how to use one.

Great cabinet by the way. Lot's of memories from my dad's station Good Luck

Thanks Doug! Hope all is well! Long time, no see...

Robert I skipped right over your name sorry, you need to post more. ; )

I'm surprised with the replie here ??? Come on you guys help Robert out here.

I'm well, hope you and yours are well also.

Polishing the sign with a very mild compound may remove some of the staining. I'd probably do it by hand, the paint on these signs is pretty thin, I'd be concerned about buffing thru. Although using a small buffer on low speed would probably be ok, just a risk of going through on the edges and corners especially.

I don't know of a way of preventing rust other than keeping the sign in a dry environment. Waxing the sign may help I suppose.

I have a couple of parts cabinet's that I have redone .They both have rust spots and minor webbing.
All I could do is use bar keepers friend quickly on them , scrubbing with a foam pad gently , rinse and then put a heavy coat of mothers carnuba wax on them. Not wanting to destroy the graphics that is as far as I would go .
You could clear coat them also as I have done that after cleaning a Gulf lubster in order to retain the original faded Gulf decal that was on it . So far it has held up well outside in the weather.
The cabinets are in the garage which is heated at 60 degrees in the winter .

I would wipe them down with some oil, by hand.

Ultimately, I would think it impossible to stop/prevent. The metal is rusting from behind the paint. I imagine it could be slowed down by keeping the environment as dry as possible. And maybe some of the other techniques mentioned may help. But I would think a dry environment is most important.
I noticed you live in Michigan. Imagine how much moisture is delivered to the environment every time you pull your cars in in the winter and they drip in the garage. I have the same problem. Garage is very damp in winter. I'm planning heat, better drainage and a dehumidifier eventually.
My 2 cents.

Michigan humidity is a killer, know from experience. Once tried to make a temporary garage with 2x4s, plywood, and opaque plastic sheeting and parked a restored car in it over the winter. It turned into this horrible green house like aging chamber, especially when the snow started melting. Rust all over the car.

Basements and inside the house are way better for storage. If you could completely seal it in a plastic bag, air tight, with a bunch of desiccant in the bag, that would work pretty well I suppose for humid environments.