Highly polishing the spring leaves by themselves is not a fix as they will quickly rust when placed back in service, but as part of an overall strategy, & you are right on the money. Do not let the springs rub metal on metal, & once you have them nice & pliable, make sure that the shocks are up to the job.

does anyone know whether john taylor uses rubbing strips in the new springs he sells. i assume he does.
Also are the rubbing strips fairly obvious to see when your looking at the springs.

Nick

Interesting.......

Instead of a conventional mineral oil, I'd suggest using a dry type graphite based lubricant between the springs.
I've used this in the past with heavy duty steel-on-steel applications (rollingstock).

Molykote I think it was called.
Went on wet, took a couple hours to dry & lasted for years.

Also - I know this sounds dodgy, but I wonder how well it'd work if you re-assembled your spring pack with a thin coating of some form of silicone sealant type product between the leaves?????
Would offer the same dampening characteristics as a neoprene type substance & should last well providing you chose the right product???