My folks lived down in Gilchrist about a mile from Rollover. As you know there is nothing left of the area. The first weekend that they started letting people back in we went down and managed to dig up some of my folks dishes and other misc doo-dads that people collect over a lifetime. Not far from thier house I found a half buried Abu Garcia 6500. I brought it home and completely tore it down. There was sand and mud literally caked inside the reel. I gave it a good cleaning and it's currently soaking in some Corrosion X. I didn't see any rust or corrosion on any of the external or internal parts. I want to get it back in top shape and present it to my step dad. I also found his Shimao Slade 2500 that I am going to do the same thing to.
Anything I should pay special attention to while restoring them? Thanks!

Good move on the Corrosion X. It's worked miracles on several reels I've brought up off the bottom of freshwater lakes.

Corrosion X is best to use. Like lowbass says, it works "miracles". After a good cleaning, i would coat each part with the reel X to protect from anymore corrosion. We have used Corrosion X for many many years. Great products.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

It is best to get the reel professionally cleaned and lubed. Even though you can't see any corrosion, I can almost promise that it is there. Salt is bad on a reel if it gets left alone.