[dsraven]

when buffing the piston tops make sure to have the pistons at the top of their stroke so the cylinder walls don't take a beating.
eventually you will likely need/want to take the pistons out for machining work to be completed. the pistons could be cleaned up then. I usually put them in a tray of aluminum compatible solvent to soak and soften up all the carbon etc. for the gasket surfaces i use a long board with sandpaper. for the combustion chambers I use a stiff knotted wire wheel on a die grinder with the valves in place at first, then, after the valves are out, the same brush works well down inside the ports and bowls where the vales seat but be very careful not to go too deep or the steel body of the brush touches the valve seats and thats not a good thing. when the head is completely dissassembled you could use oven cleaner on it and then wash it all with hot water. then use compressed air to dry and when it is drying look for any traces of spots where the water doesn't dry uniformly as those spots may be holding water in a crack. the old heads had a habit of cracking in the combustion chambers. ensure to keep all the valves in order of where they came from if you take the head apart.