Well, on any forum like this your gonna get 10 different ways to do something so you just have to pick the one you feel most comfortable with and go with it. The guys on this forum are experienced, all the different methods for cleaning are good.
If that was my shell. I would do as you have planned and strip the paint off. The rings can be glued up solid again but lets see some more pictures of those please.
The chrome or nickle parts can be safely washed or soaked in a tub of water and Dawn dish soap for a couple hours, cleaned up then polished with about any chrome polish. The really bad rusty screws could be replaced with new ones or you can try soaking them in a rust remover such as evapo-rust or CLR, or the vinegar/water trick.