For flat iron surfaces, it's hard to beat a single-edge razor scraper. The plastic Allway holders are great. Incredibly, the HDX ones are crap. Not sure how they screwed that up, but they did.
Anyhow, the steel of the blade isn't hard enough to scratch the surface without some serious effort, which means you won't wear any hollows where there's more rust (beyond any pitting from the rust itself). It's quicker than a wire brush because you're basically cutting under the rust and lifting it off in paths the width of the blade. Replace the blades when they get full or nicked. They're more than cheap enough.
As mentioned elsewhere, Evaporust does wonders for any remaining rust.
Anyhow, the steel of the blade isn't hard enough to scratch the surface without some serious effort, which means you won't wear any hollows where there's more rust (beyond any pitting from the rust itself). It's quicker than a wire brush because you're basically cutting under the rust and lifting it off in paths the width of the blade. Replace the blades when they get full or nicked. They're more than cheap enough.
As mentioned elsewhere, Evaporust does wonders for any remaining rust.