hgoodwiniii

Hi everyone, I am ready to install the heads on my 91 L98 and I need to clean my engine block surfaces. I have the gasket materials off but trying to clean the head gasket paint marks/imprints and get to a clean shiny surface. Any suggestions on what to use without scarring/gouging the engine block? I saw a couple of threads that says to use scotch brite. Does that work without scarring up the surfaces? Thanks.

Vets-Vet

Scotch bright is controversial. According to some sources scotchbright releases an oxide particle (IIRC) that is small enough to get between bearings and the surfaces they are trying to protect. According to others it is not. It is also said that shiny is not the goal, clean and smooth is the goal. I am sorry I do not have the answer for you but please take time to dig deeper into cleaning a blocks surface for heads. There are as many opinions as there are questions about cleaning the blocks surface.

hgoodwiniii

Yea, I probably should have said smooth and clean; Dont care about shiny.

sheriffjim

I will say I used scotchbrite pads on mine (very thoroughly) and have SO FAR not had any issues. Its been a couple thousand miles since then.

hgoodwiniii

That's good feedback sheriffjim. Keep us posted. I'm going to keep looking and see what other option(s) may be viable, as well. Thanks.

Cornhusker

I’ve used lacquer thinner & a rag, it’s my go to when simple green doesn’t work. However I have used regular mineral spirits to wash down cylinders because it doesn’t evaporate as quickly as lacquer thinner.