Daniel, don't sand the block, the dust will get into your cylinders and scratch them up. Use a razor-blade and carefully go over the entire mating surface on the head and cut off all the old gasket. Do the same on the deck, and scrape/cut outwards so the remnants fall outside the block. The Permatex Coppercoat spray then seals all the scratches you make with the razor blade. Due to the pressures involved on the sealing-ridges, any and all sealants (even the pre-applied Viton coating) gets pushed aside when clamp down on the head. The sealants only serve to fill minor scratches that may let water weep through.

 

thanks danno

 

just found out that my pistons are a NA High Compression piston. Would have never known.