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Thanks for your thoughts.
Wheels: Yes the fact they are 36h does bother me a little and I could probably find a set of second hand modern wheels for probably £100-150 which would ultimately look better. I was originally thinking of buying some reputable Chinese 38mm carbon rims laced to Novatec hubs as this would look amazing, but they are about £250 and apparently brake poorly in the wet. The Miche hubs cost £80 and I can reuse my spokes/rims to build a wheelset that still brakes in the wet, is red, and is easily serviceable. I've successfully serviced factory wheels before but it's sometimes tricky to source replacement rims, which is a worry (though perhaps I can keep a set alive for years if I use decent pads and keep them clean).
Chainring: Yes it's a bit worn, but would be fine while I sourced an affordable replacement. There are Stronglight rings available but I'm holding out for a Campagnolo one.
Paint: I was intending to use steel wool on small areas of chipped paint to remove small spots of surface rust and to improve adhesion for the touch up paint. Then after careful thin layers of touch up paint I would T-cut to blend/smooth these areas in, and lightly T-cut the rest of the paint before using Zymol as a final polishing and waxing step (in place of Meguiar and the wax/sealant). In my research I did see some chat about clay bars but it seems unnecessary if I'm using T-cut.
Contrasting touch up paint is an interesting idea that I had not considered, I was just hoping to find a very close "pearl white". Is this too optimistic?
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Ndeipi
Color aside, what’s the rationale for lacing those rims to new hubs? 36h doesn’t really suit the groupset as far as I’m concerned, and you might be better off with something used/prebuilt on Campag hubs, plenty of decent options around.
Corrosion seems to be a common problem with these coated chainrings/derailleur cages...That being said, the ring looks rather worn already, I’d keep it as is until I sourced a replacement for a price I’m OK with.
As to the frame, unless it’s surface rust you’re trying to remove, don’t touch the paint with steel wool. A Clay bar works well removing grime from the paint, then maybe a polishing compound (i.e. meguiar’s ultimate compound) to blend in small paint defects and some sort of wax/sealant to top it off. I’d also consider contrasting touch up paint, maybe something complementary to the decals.