Coolant flush issue

[Schurkey]

If I use a power tool to remove gaskets on aluminum, it's red roloc pads. Even still, you have to be careful. The brown roloc pads are okay on cast iron or steel.

No, they aren't.

The brown pads were what was being used in the Chevy dealership I was at in '84. The guys called 'em "cookies" as they looked like big Ginger Snaps. My machinist at that time told me castings were coming into the shop with the gasket surfaces wavy--aluminum worst, but even some iron castings were being worn.

And as said, the abrasive dust goes everywhere.

 

[Erik the Awful]

At the Nissan dealership we had a recall in the late '90s to replace the short fuel injection hoses from the piping to the injectors. We had to pull the upper intake to get to them. The gasket between the upper and lower intake was always cooked solid. We used red rolocs, and so long as you keep them moving and are careful not to burn a single spot they work great. Yeah, there's dust, but it was never a serious issue. I will concede that manually scraping and following with a brass brush is best practice, but if the gasket is persistent, it's not practical.

 

[Orpedcrow]

I really like the green and yellow roloc bristle discs for cleaning gasket surfaces that are OFF the vehicle. I spent a whole bunch of money on a carbide tipped “gasket scraper” out of a red and white rape van, but it’s pretty fantastic. I use that and a shop vac for cleaning gasket surfaces that are open to critical areas.

 

[grey wolf]

I've used some roloc discs that were made from a mildly abrasive plastic before, I think they are made by 3M, and probably some chinese rip-off versions are out there too. When these are new, they have a bunch of little "fingers" that wear down with use. They work OK, and they're not as abrasive compared to the old cookie discs, but they still make some dust. I'd still be very cautious about using those on aluminum too.

Personally I just use a razor blade and scrape away what I can. If need be, I will use a sanding block or something perfectly flat, and some 600 grit paper to make the surface perfect, but usually a razor is enough. Then I wipe it all down with a clean rag and some brake cleaner. I work on European stuff these days, and that method has always worked fine for me. I'd be very hesitant to use power tools on any kind of aluminum surface.