I understand that chrome silicone springs will out last any other kind of magazine spring, but that they are prone to rusting. My question is, how often do you need to clean them? Do I need to tear them down and clean them every time they get a little wet, or can I just put them up to dry and walk away. Thanks for any help with this.

As an afterthought, would it be possible to apply some sort of rustproofing to them without compromising their reliability?

I would just a light coat on the spring using a patch. Tear down the magazine if it is giving me trouble, or if magazine has gotten wet/dirty.