slant six head gasket help!!

Compressed air will be your friend. Just be wary of the coolant passages,stuff rags in the bores etc...Then use a gasket scraper for the big stuff, and very fine sand paper for the rest. The goal here is just to clean everything up without removing any metal from the surface. Use compressed air to blow everything out,and a paper towel(no lint/fibers like a regular towel) to wipe it all down. Make sure you use the correct torque sequence, and you are good to go!