Have a couple of question for my first project drum...

COB stick chopper rims have L&L Chicago stamp but are not brass. They are some type of ferrous metal. Is that the norm?

As the rims are ferrous, they have the most amount of rust as well as chrome pitting and flaking. I really like the drum but need the expert's opinion on the clean up. What is the best investment (final drum value after clean up) for restoration, keep rims as is, remove rust and polish or send out to have professionally rechromed by electroplating?

Also 75% of the strainer and butt plate are ferrous, same questions as above.

Any good sources/resources for getting accurate dates for these models? Got this one at a flee market, total score, and found another online but want to find a little more info. Any advice would be greatly appreciated