jonwvara 

I'm going to take my Lotus Unique frame out of the oxalic acid bath in another day or so and wipe it here and there with a soft plastic mesh dishwashing pad. The the plan is to rinse it, put it in a baking soda bath for a bit, dry it off, blow out the tubes with compressed air and blow off the surface also. At that point I hope I'll have a clean rustless frame with a fair number of bare patches.
I don't want to get into trying to touch up the paint. Besides, this is practice for giving the same treatment to my Dawes Double Blue frame, which I DEFINITELY don't want to sully with inept touch-up paint. My plan is to accept and live with whatever patches of bare metal are left, which in both cases will amount to quite a fews scrapes and general abraded patches.
What to people do in such cases? My plan is to wipe the bare areas down with Boeshield and pretty much leave it at that, repeating as necessary if any new rust threatens. I understand it's a very good rust preventative--reportedly much better than WD-40. At some point, I might try to see if it's possible to wax over bare steel that's been previously Boeshielded and wiped off. May or may not work, but perhaps worth a try.
What do other people do to protect areas of bare metal in a way that doesn't look awful?

wrk101

Many use clear nail polish if they are not going to touch up the paint. It can be removed easily later with acetone (nail polish remover). You should use framesaver or similar for the inside of the frame.

jonwvara 

Well, I figured I'd rubber-band some plastic over the bottom bracket and headset openings, plug the little vent holes in the chainstays and seatstays, pour a cup of WD-40 (mainly because I inherited a gallon of it) down the seat tube, and rotate the frame for a while so it coats the insides of the tubes. It's so easy to do that that there's no point in NOT doing it. But I think it's basically a waste of time. I don't think tubes rust from the inside in any significant way, at least not in my area. I had a old Motobecane Mirage that I used to like to ride off a dock into a lake when I was a clueless young person. The tubes must have regularly filled with water. Out of curiosity, I scoped out the insides of the tubes pretty well with a light and a dentist's mirror when I tore it down a couple of years ago (this would have been almost 30 years after I used to ride it off the dock). No signs of rust anywhere.
Of course, if I'd ridden it into salt water that would probably have been a different and sadder story...

Bianchigirll 

wrk101 is right clear nailpolish will help seal the paint. I am not familiar with boesheild but I always use a good turtle wax on my frames when I am overhauling them.

Batman_3000

wax.

bikegeekmn

Most steel used on bike frames does'nt really rust too badly . I've had frames w/ bare steel patches and ran them for years without it getting bad . After washing the bike a coat of knock'er loose (penetrating oil) kept the rust away well.I would use penetrating oil inside the frame over WD-40 -it will not evaporate

EraserGirl

the main ingredient in WD-40 is mineral spirits, it's just gonna drive all the water away and evaporate. so i think framesaver is the better choice.
as for the external area, my 69 armstrong has a lot of bare patches from use, so far no rust just a lovely patina..but then it's dark green and the rust isn't as noticeable with dark colors. if it starts to rust, i am going for the nail polish. (warning don't use the nail polish near decals, it will melt them)

USAZorro

Bare steel will rust. May not rust fast where humidity is low, but come in contact with some water and salt, and BLAM! you'll have rust.

I can understand not wanting to touch-up or repaint, but something better than a plastic sleeve is needed, unless you plan on high maintenance.

jonwvara 

What's this plastic sleeve which you speak? Not previously mentioned.

USAZorro

Means I was in a hurry when I read post #3 the first time.

ilmaestro

i'm a fan of simple nail polish. works for me.