Question about cleaning out gasket channels - VC Vigilant

[littlalex]

Howdy - I'm starting to re-gasket an old Vigilant and for the life of me I can't clear out the channels of old cement completely. Wire brush then wire wheel on my drill and the dust flies like crazy but obvious patches of uneven old cement remain. The arthritic hands don't help...is there any chemo or technique anyone knows of? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I've gasketed other stoves but none with this kind of buildup.

 

[fbelec]

when i've done it i used a hammer and screw drive that fits the channel then wire wheeled it.

 

[littlalex]

when i've done it i used a hammer and screw drive that fits the channel then wire wheeled it.

Thanks!

 

[MDH33]

I just rebuilt a VC resolute and went through this. Disassembled stove completely and removed all the cement in all the seams and gasket channels. I got a set of cold chisels from harbor freight that included some round ones that fit the channels well. That knocked out most of the cement. Then i used a wire wheel on an angle grinder, which is a lot faster than a drill, and this got it down to clean metal in seconds. I got a couple tubes of Rutland stove and gasket cement and resealed the whole stove along with new gaskets. Did a few break in fires and it's like new. Good luck!