Hi Ted12,
that sounds like a plan. I did a basic rub down with medium grit sand paper and used phosphoric acid rust converter on the rusty sections and left overnight.
Then used one of those paint + prime two in one cans of colour like what Rustolium sell in their 2X range. British Paints and White Knight (??) have similar products a bit cheaper but I was told the more expensive Rustoleum gives better coverage. I found a colour in the BP version that was a perfect match to the original Victa light grey and went with that to great satisfaction. Don't lose sight oh the fact it's a mower, not a car, so don't worry of the finish is well short of mirror finish in certain light, it will still look 100 times better than before!!