Not OP, but I think "oxidize" here would refer to... rewriting the components in Rust.

If iron oxidizes, it turns in to rust

And then the oxidized layer protects the rest of the iron.

This is how weathering steel works, but for all other cases the instructions are to remove the oxidized layer and apply a protective coat of paint, because rust is typically pourous and provides no protection, but traps moisture.

Also stainless steel has an oxidised protective layer, but its transparent so we don't call it rust

I'd assume it meant 'rewrite in rust.'

It probably means different things to different people. Usually when I see the term "oxidize" it tends to mean rewrite critical parts of software, but not necessarily the entire thing (like swapping out the TLS library in a C implementation for one in Rust, but the rest of the C program remains the same).

This would be different from rewriting the entire program in Rust.

Metals get rust by an oxidation process.

I’m not Latin expert, but I think iron, or ferus metals are the only ones that “rust”. Raw aluminum starts oxidizing the moment air hits it, anodizing is specially oxidizing aluminum then dying it, and of course this is more true for metals like potassium that dull while you are looking at them, but I’ve never heard anyone say these metals “rust”, they oxidize.

The word "rust" has Germanic origins, with the meaning red/reddish.

Latin rubigo (rust) also derives from the word for the color red.

They may have a common ancestor (I don't know)

Good one, I just assumed Latin. You’re probably closer with Germanic.

Still, reddish, we’re likely back to ferrous metals.