Good Gasket Remover?

I'm installing a new cam and as we all know, this involves replacing many gaskets, as many items on the engine are removed and reinstalled. Most of your everyday gaskets are easy to remove, but what about metal gaskets? Head gaskets, intake gaskets, how the hell do you get those off? Gasket remover? I don't think so. 2 days of letting that stuff work,(vs the recommended 5 -10 minutes) has no effect.

if its metal, then you pry up the metal portion and pry it off. It usually comes off easily once you get a corner up. But you will still have the remaining gunk left over under the metal of course.

Most gasket stuff comes off nicely with a razor blade in a scraper. If its on aluminum be careful not to gouge the surface. You can soften most sealants with brake parts cleaner or acetone. both are very strong solvents that leave nothing behind so if you overspray or drip on the internal parts of the engine it won't leave anything behind. Carb cleaner is a pretty good solvent but it leaves stuff behind and I don't know if I want any of it contaminating my oil.

3M makes a rotary pad that works wonders in a drill. It looks like a black sponge under a microscope; like a sponge with really big pores. It will work wonders on iron without removing metal. It will also work well on aluminum but if you linger in one spot it will alter the surface.

Whatever you do, DON'T use any kind of mechanical means that might alter the flatness or finish of the surface. Sandpaper or wire wheels are a big no-no. I don't care how carefully you work sandpaper on a head or intake, you'll have high and low spots.

anything with aluminum oxide is very bad to use on a gasket surface, unless you plan on hot tanking it after you get done.

Most abrasives that are used in die grinders, angle grinders, drills etc have aluminum oxide in them. The AO will not get stopped by the oil filter and will destroy your bearings.

All the manufacturers have had TSB's on this for a long time

A solvent to loosen it up, followed by a razor and a wet stone is the best option, although it can be time consuming

Very true about the aluminum oxide. The 3M abrasive to which I refered is a plastic abrasive. Its basically a very coarse version of one of their scuff pads. Since its plastic and not harder than the metal, it won't alter the metal substrate but it will destroy gasket material. :)

They will still throw chunks of plastic and gasket material everywhere so care must still be taken, but no aluminum oxide is in those rotary scuff pads. They look like this:

http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediawebserver.dyn?6666660Zjcf6lVs6EVs666EMec7rrrr Q-

are you POSITIVE there's no aluminum oxide??

I researched this a while ago, and couldn't find any abrasive that didn't have it. I'll admit, I didn't check that particular type of abrasive

I'v allways used copper tubing (soft, not hard) with the end hammerd flat to scrape aluminum with, works well and wont scratch the surface.

are you POSITIVE there's no aluminum oxide??

I researched this a while ago, and couldn't find any abrasive that didn't have it. I'll admit, I didn't check that particular type of abrasive

Many abrasives don't have aluminum oxide. Some have silicon dioxide which is just as bad, but the whole line of 3M discs like the one pictured is made of plastics. Some of their screen abrasives used for floor refinishing are made of fiberglass. Of course there is all the blast media that isn't aluminum dioxide but I don't think we're talking about that for removing gaskets :)

I've found a hand scraper is best, maybe a few applications of gaket remover in a can if necessary.

Many abrasives don't have aluminum oxide. Some have silicon dioxide which is just as bad, but the whole line of 3M discs like the one pictured is made of plastics. Some of their screen abrasives used for floor refinishing are made of fiberglass. Of course there is all the blast media that isn't aluminum dioxide but I don't think we're talking about that for removing gaskets :)

good to know, thanks