[speed220mph]

Big Rob: First, do like Rick says and stuff the ports with rags or shop towels, but don't overlook any when you pull them out. And to prevent junk from landing in the lifter area, lay out shop towels to catch the junk when it falls.

Forget using a putty knife except for doing detail work. Use a dedicated gasket scraper . . . unless your heads are aluminum. Then you'll have to go another route. Rotary plastic bristle brushes used in a drill motor work great for this. Or, use a plastic gasket scraper.

As for cast-iron heads, use the steel gasket scraper. Be careful if you have to sharpen it and don't make the mistake made by a lot of people. The scraper should not have a sharp edge. Rather, the edge should be chamfered, one large ground edge, then turn over the scraper and chamfer the other edge. Looking from the end of the scraper, it should look like a V with one long leg and the other very short. And don't hollow grind the edges, but put a slight radius on them . . . both sides. This will keep the scraper from digging in. If you look at a new scraper, you'll see what I mean.

Once you're finished with both heads, carefully pull out the "plugs" from the ports, allowing the junk to fall into the lifer valley, then lift out the shop towels with the junk and you're done.

I hope you can follow what I said. There's no easy way to remove gasket material, just easier.