I've got my heads off, getting ready to install some new ones.
I've scrapped everything clean with a razor blade.
Would it be a good or bad idea to use some ScotBrite pad to thoroughly get everything off the block surface and make it shinny again?
Scotbrite doesn't seem to leave dust particals behind and I would be running the shop vac with it to suck up anything coming loose as well as using it to suck everything out of the cylinders.

Thanks

 

scotch-brite won't hurt nothing as long as you are doing it by hand. If your spinning a disk with a die grinder or something though you can gouge the surface. stuff each cylinder full of rags before you start and clean everything up when your done.

 

i've always used the 3m pads for on a die grinder, they're just like the scotch-brite pads but are for gasket removal. when your done with the pads use some tack rags or mineral spirits on a rag to clean up any dust made

 

I always do too, but some of my lesser experienced mechanics have destroyed things in the shop like that too when I wasn't looking. Granted most of that stuff was aluminum, but if you took one of the brown 3m disks to the block deck you could damage it if your not careful and prevent the head from sealing. I just figure with a hand held pad no one would be able to damage it. I like to operate on the assumtion that if it can be messed up then it probably will be at some point.

 

I would not use any scotch birte at all.....

get a sporay can of gasket remover and follow the directions, it works great

 

Thanks for the tips. With my luck, if it can be messed up I'll mess it up, I'll stick to the manual method.
I've got all the gasket material off with the razor blade, but there's still a few places that it looks impressed on there I thought I'd clean up some.
And just by luck of the draw, I had 2 cylinders at TDC and it was much easier to clean around them, so I may rotate the engine so that the cylinder I'm working near is at TDC and clean off the piston tops while I'm at it and leave the shop vac going to suck up any dust and particals.

 

You should not clean the tops of the pistons. I know I am going to get flamed for this but you should not tamper with the tops of the pistons with any abrasive. It has to do with destroying the "Beilby Layer". Google it. Might be to advanced of a thing to worry about in cars but why take the chance. Cleaning the tops of your pistons will give you no gain other than making them shiny.

 

Also, although it may not apply in your case, we use a lot of exotic coatings on pistons and other things such as ceramics, and taking a scotch brite disk to them would definatly remove them.

 

Thanks for the tip

 

I think I got her all cleaned up, ready to install the heads tomorrow