How clean for head gaskets??

How clean is good enough for new head gaskets? I've had some people tell me to use a green scrubbing pad, or very very light sanding to get everything off, but I'm afraid of damaging the surface.

Here are what I have so far on one of the heads and one side of the block, is this good enough? The pictures accentuate what appear to be like stains on the metal, but all of the surfaces feel totally smooth to the touch.








Here was how it looked prior to cleaning



And now after:

 

What have you used to clean the surface? Acetone works well, so does some gasket remover.

The ring around the cylinder is the critical part.


Otherwise the graphite based gaskets are pretty forgiving around the coolant and oil passages. I've used them twice without decking the surface, and ran up to 28 psi out of my turbo, when it was cold out.

I'd say try the acetone and gasket remover, and if you absolutely have to, a metal straight edge wrapped with some 600 grit wet.

 

I can't answer your question but there is a pretty good DIY guide on rs25.com . I also read that people use a razor blade.

 

I used a razor blade very carefully and then carb cleaner with rags and a fair bit of elbow grease.

 

Carb cleaner has some acetone in it, but the straight stuff works better. Also, it is the bee's knee's for removing silicone, so it is nice to have around.

 

but back to the question, is smooth to the touch good enough?

 

I can't really quantify what you consider smooth to the touch. Like I said before, be especially diligent around the cylinders, and make sure there are no burs there. If there are, a slight touch-up with some fine sandpaper should take care of it, but again, it is up to the person to exercise care in not affecting the surface flatness too much.