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do not worry about steel wool scratching the iron block. Usually when you buy steel wool they give you a variety pack with different types of coarseness just use the finest grade that they have and goto town with some WD40 you will have such minor scratches on the surface that it wouldnt really matter.johnathan1 said:
The only thing i would worry about is getting things in the cylinders and somehow damaging the rings. Which is why you use tape and tapeoff each cylinder and piston top. IE. make a rim of tape on the INSIDE of the cylinder wall and create a kind of canopy over the cylinder area. That way you dont have any tape on the top part of the block (mating surface) and you can prep w/ no interuptions or missed spots.
Typically when prepping a block you do not want to use water based products. Stick with your WD40's, engine degreasers and gasket remover liquids. WD40 has the same effect as wet sanding but wont rust your block and also will help keep things a little more lubricated. On that note when you do take your head off, before prepping put some wd40 or motor oil in the tops of each piston and crank the motor 2 full revolutions to keep the cylinder walls and rings nice and lubricated, then wipe out the excess liquid. Its good to do this once or twice for every week the car is disassembled to prevent seizing or surface rust.
I have never heard of anyone wet sanding a block, because it is after all cast iron, its very hard and a very long process id assume. Try it but if you do this make sure you protect those oil & water passages in some way, as well as the cylinders! Upon prepping ensure that you do indeed do a full and LONG flush of the cooling system as well as the oil system just to make sure you get all of those steel wool bits out.
Let me know if you have any questions, if someone has something to correct from what ive said please do so
