For deck 'clean-up' just get a little box of straight razors and push the edge (away from you, NOT toward you) with minimum pressure. The edge will curl under before any 'digging in' of the cast iron. (Just be VERY CAREFUL on aluminum blocks/heads) Just keep the angle pretty low. Not more than 20deg.
the thin blade will bend some versus a big, thick gasket scraper or sharpened putty knife that just loves to dig in JUST when you don't want them to.
Remember that where the 'fire ring' around the H/G does the sealing of the cyl pressuer. Depending on the blocks/head condition, you may have pitting of the surface from the coolant over time. If this pitting can be detected where it would be under that fire ring, have it decked.
Now, that would entail taking the whole engine apart and delivering it to a shop etc.. Then one has to make sure they have the same deck hight on both sides. That would be a crapper, that one side is lower than the other..
I've used the little wire wheels/grinders many times throughout the decades and a neat little trick is to use a can of cheap shave-cream to fill up everything from intake ports to stud holes (Did you ever use a blow nozzle to clean out a clogged EGR passage, and all that carbon just BLOWS EVERYWHERE!! Yeah, you thought that you were smart!!
)
After the porting/cleaning/repair you can just suck it out with a shop-vac with all the debris (well, most. the rest a rag can usually handle)
Now I don't think that Joe Gibbs racing would use it but when times are tough... There usually isn't much residue at all left over.
Which brings me to another area. Cleaning the Head stud/bolt holes. A pistol cleaning kit/rod for say a 40cal. on a cordless drill and some brake clean usually will get all that sealer/anti-seize out. Semi-hardening material usually takes a little more effort (products like Lock-tite will be best removed by a bottoming tap, and then the cleaning process) The 'wire' is usually a brass or bronze, and the wires themselves are alot longer so they tend to bend over rather break off (jsut as long as you don't change direction all the time)
I'd hate for you to get it all nice looking and have a couple head bolts not torque down enough because of a little crap in the hole NOBODY LIKES CRAP IN THE HOLE.
In addition, the dead holes are one thing, the 'through' holes will just drop the sealer down into the block. If and I know sometimes one can't but after most everything is bolted up for the coolant, run some water (NOT A HOSE) through the block/heads/intake with the drain plugs out in the middle of the block by the pan-rail to get some of the floating sealer bits out. You don't want to clog any radiator passages with it, overheat and blame it on the job you just did.. Radiator flush doesn't break that silicone sealer down. It just floats around.
Now You could start the bore brush at the bottom first and come back up with the threads. That way all/most the 'stuff' will end up on the deck that can be easily wiped/blown off.
And not knocking the others but, the top ring only has a gap of usually .012-.018+, so I'd doubt that lots of crap got down past them. It's what gets in between the ring lands. But about 120-180psi of compressed air should work.
(It's the extended running of a bad tune that builds up carbon soot mixed with other contaminants that will build up behind the rings and slowly force them out and over time, wearing the cyl walls uneven like a reverse hour-glass.
BUT that's a different thread..
I got confidence in ya.. I think you'll be fine. Just take your time and go over things, even take a buddy too! (leave the beer for after though)
E