So I posted these questions the other day in the LS section and haven't gotten any feedback. I was hoping you guys could help me. I may be over thinking this but better to ask than not.
So when I painted my engine I didn't mask off the place where the waterpump gasket or exhaust gasket goes. When I see pictures online it looks like a lot of people do. Do I need to strip the paint off? Its smooth so I would think it would seal but I won't want a leak later. I did mask off the intake ports on the heads.
Another thing is that while my engine has been sitting in the frame with no crank pulley I got flash rusting on the crank snout. I was planning on just cleaning that with emory cloth. Think that's the right way?