[Short 3/4]

I'm doing a total tear down/re build on a closed D44f (non HD) and of course it has the usual pitting and grooves on the ball. Was wondering best way to clean it up without going beyond the point of no return and making things worse. I'd like to only do this once, and not ruin it in the process.
I know they all leak and are obsolete junk, but I've been driving these since the seventies and happen to like them, so please don't try to talk me out of this.
As this is the first time I've torn one down this far, any advice would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Tom