You will need expert advice from a watchmaker, but I believe it will depend where the rust is and how much of it there is. One thing to keep in mind is that if you are seeing rust in the exposed areas of the watch, you have to expect that there will be more in the areas that you are not seeing. The watchmaker will need to disassemble the watch to see exactly how severe or minor the damage might be.

Also consider how common or rare the movement might be -- for some movements, there are ample parts and spares, so that you could undertake a big project. For the rare movements, replacing parts may not be an option.

Good luck, with whatever you decide to do!!

Jeff

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: Simply put: Is it possible to restore a (1970s) watch with clear rust damage in a certain area?