cometic head gaskets

SBM do you spray coat mls cometic head gaskets ? if so what are you spraying them with, also what are you torquing them to with head studs.
thanks Tom

No, put them on dry in most cases. There are a few engines where sometimes you might need some RTV around certain water holes but that is rare.

I put them on dry unless They're being reussed. Then I spray with copper coat.. Torque to 85lb/ft with ARP lube.
Doug

Same here. Dry when new, copper coat spray when re-using.

SBM , last one i did, small amount of orange/red hi temp rtv around the water ports. other than that...DRY

Always dry.

I always spray them w/ coppercoat. Never had an issue.

Same

Cometic Multi-Layer Steel (MLS) head gaskets go on dry because they are coated with a sealant. Each MLS head gasket is coated with a . 001" thick Viton rubber that is bonded to the outer stainless steel layers. Adding an additional sealer can hinder the performance of an MLS head gasket.

I've talked to different builders and it seems to be 50/50 on spraying them versus not. Dan Costello (DRAM here, RIP) at Performance Only recommended I spray them, so I did. Never had an issue since 2006. Even after hurting some pistons w/ nitrous, I've never hurt a head gasket. Can't be too detrimental to their performance.
The hemi head gasket gets REAL thin near the pushrod on a big bore too.

as what others said dry when new spray with copper coat when reusing. One thing I want to mention is that if you are putting cometic style gaskets on an older engine the surface finish of the block and heads are critical to getting them to seal the best. Cometic gaskets are layers of stainless steel wich is very hard and durable, but they don't conform for any irregularities. The stock surface finish of all older muscle car engines is too rough.

file:///C:/Users/Hp280G/Downloads/FPTB-108-Surface-Finish.pdf

I've reused them as many as 3 times at 15-1. 100's of passes with no issues. The only reason that they get sprayed is that some of that runbber coating gets a little shreaded.
Doug

I copper coat them when new. And when I reuse them, I drill the rivets out, and clean and spray both sides of the thin pieces that have the coating on them.

Oh i forgot i do spray mine......with lots of NITROUS

Thanks for the reply seems both ways work for everyone. also this one will see its fair share of nitrous.

The Mr. Gasket MLS gaskets I put on dry before the last dyno session showed indications of fluid seepage, even though they are coated and supposed to not need anything else. When I put the heads back on, I switched to Cometics and used the Mopar spray-on sealer the dealers used when replacing all the blown-out Dodge Neon head gaskets with MLS years ago. The heads' gasket surface are definitely smooth enough for MLS, but the block deck may not be and I didn't want to take another chance with leaks.

I remember reading this with yours and maybe a couple others using that Mr, Gasket headgasket. I play with headgasket assemblies very often and have evolved my 'process' to use small films of easily displaceable sealers around water. Permatex pipe-dough etc. I have used that same 'failure-prone' gasket a few times and have had 100% success. IIRC the Mr. Gasket one lacks raised beads around some cooling areas? But again, use what you are comfortable with! I wasn't going to chime-in because I knew there'd be many techniques and obviously they'll vary with what I do out of respect for abilities. One of the main reasons for me is like DVW has mentioned is typically you get that sealing film delaminating in areas so when you start stacking up overlapping 'hanging chads' you'll get a recipe for a leak. I have never thrown out a MLS gasket, always reusing them. Respectfully, Sean

I'd have reused the Mr. G's with the same spray coating, except I figured out I needed to use the 4.50" instead of 4.41" while it was torn down. The price difference was moot at the time, so I decided to give the Cometics a try. Still have the Mr. G's hanging on the wall in my garage, FWIW.

Always did dry, last time I sprayed them with copper coat and got a very small amount of water in a cylinder. Went back to dry and no issues so far. I don’t reuse them. I know you can, but I’m lazy and hate doing things twice. Oh, watch out that the center rivet doesn’t get pinched between the block and head it you are using stock castings.

I appreciate that info.