This is what I found how to clean the surface:
Head gasket pics
"Is the engine back together yet Jklubens? Hopefully you are using the beer funnel for what it ment for.
As for cleaning the tops of the pistons and the cylinder wall of the carbon and the top of the block. i use the 3m scotch brite pads on a air die grinder. NOTE: BE VERY CARE FULL WITH THE VERY COURSE ONE, IT CAN WEAR DOWN THE BLOCK VERY FAST. On the top of the pistons i use a wire brush(soft one) to break up the carbon. On the cylinder walls I use scotch brite pads and scrape it with a a small screw driver to brake up the carbon. I use cylinder plugs made of thick paper board(like a ups folder mailer). I peen out a plug to catch the partical for the other cylinders(6 plugs ) I usually work on the two cylinder that are at the top of the stoke at one time. I use a vaccuum to suck what I can and air to blow the rest way. The stuff that is stuck down the cylinder wall and piston can be pulled out with oil on the cylinder walls, the rotate the pistons up and down (mind the timing chain while moving the pistons up and down). When cleaning the top of the block, mind getting stuff down the open timing chain area and the oil galley.
these are techniques I have used for well over 28 years to clean out cylinders.
If done properly it return the combustion chamber to near new conditions and gives the engine a great boost. It is a must for supercharging and or turbo charging(IMHO). As it gets rid of the carbon that can create hot spots that can lead to predetanation and piston melting.
Any how it can be a time consuming process, the resluts are nice.
Happy Holidays every one. Just waiting for the kids to get out of bed. Robbie"
"I use 3 different types of scotch brite pad. From course to fine to clean the surface. by the time I am done the surface is fairly smooth except for the pitting from corrosion. With some of the Scotch brite pads, you can polish a surface to very very smooth surface.
Rick, if you can not use some type of abrasive, what does this information reccomend a person to use to clean the surface of the block?
In the not so distance past, I used sand paper in various grades to do the same job. Even using a DA sander(this method I have used for a very long time) But you have to be very carefull in the cleaning process to make sure no sand particals are left in between the piston and the cylinder wall. Sand paper was all I was trained to use in the early 80' to late 80's. Then Scotch brite came out in force. The big benifit of it was to allow a person not to have to be as miticulus in the cleaning process, as the material would not harm the internals of a engine quite like sand paper particles. Not to say, I am not going to clean just as much, but I do not worry as much about something left behind.
Any how enjoy the holiday(what a way to engoy them, tearing a engine apart). later robbie"