leaky heads gaskets, I'm losing it!

When I hear guys using wire wheels or those Scotchbright divot diggers on gasket surfaces my skin begins to crawl.
a brass wire wheel is much softer than cast iron. On Aluminum is a no-no. Get a piece of thick glass or a granite floor tile and glue a piece of 600 grit on its shiny face, nice and flat. Run this over the gasket plane a few times nice and easy and see if any area is getting missed, there is your low spot.