Sculdog, as far as setting studs goes you will find many opinions and most do work quite well. Some of those are short term like for selling once running again, you know the PO thing.
Most important no matter what you seal with is the prep! The threads should be chased with a fresh tap using a paint thinner, acetone or such. A brush can be used to apply your choice. Once the tap is in the hole spin it back and forth a bit to really clean the threaded hole. Once dry blow out with air.
Only use new studs if you can afford them and clean them with the thinner so no oil residue is left.
Now the studs are ready to be sealed with your choice.
The JB Weld is strong but the epoxy tends to break away from stressed areas once the torque is applied. It will help hold but does not do as good job of sealing.
Sealing with malleable sealers works great but adds no strength. The malleability of the Permatex products or the non hardening grades of Lock-Tite will not "break away" when torqued thus a better "seal". I have always used the Permatex on engines and the Lock-Tite on dry applications. I prefer the aviation grade on the studs and head gasket as it can be easily brushed on. The #2 works just as well for studs but not on a head gasket.
I would not take any kind of abrasive to the block deck as it is assembled. Any grit getting down to the pistons and rings will chew things up until it gets flushed out. Ok on the head as there are no moving parts and you can really clean up after or on a stripped block. Just be very careful so you don't hollow out anything. Personally I only use a scraper and a medium wire brush to prep the surfaces on cast iron.
Do as Al says for the nuts and washers. Do remember to torque incrementally and retorque after the first few run cycles especially with two gaskets. If you choose to put the head on wet (with sealers) it will last far longer and it will be a bit more trouble removing if the need arrises. Also if you do assemble wet you will need to retorque at each increment a few times as the sealer squeezes and the gaskets compress. I go 10lbs at a time for increments.
Dave Neptune
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