: after blowing the head gasket, removing the head, i've cleaned up the top of the block that mates w/ the bottom of the head. it seems the old gasket had left some tiny pits in the block and they have some blackish crud in them. the largest pits are a few mm wide and none are more than fractions of a mm deep. i can't get the pits cleaned out, not w/ scotchpads, acetone or brake clean. can i just leave it this way, try something else or do i need to get the block shaved (please say no). : TIA