Gasket appears to be superglued on to my crankcase covers. What's the best way to remove without damaging the ally faces?

Razor blade (one of the old fashioned ones )

If its a paper type gasket use water to soften it and just take your time. Have spent many a happy hour removing stuck bits of gasket.

Tried the razor blade method but you inevitably end up digging it into the soft ally face at some point - not good!

Depending what has been used to seal it / stick it.

Somtimes heating with a heat gun can loosen the glue/bonding.

regards

Agriv8

You can get gasket remover in an aerosol that you spray on which softens the gasket. I've used nitromors paint stripper with reasonable results as well, though you have to leave it for quite a long time and reapply it a few times.

one of those old fashion plastic ivory handle dinner knives, you know the sort. they are think and bendy but not shart to cut yourself and if yused carefully don;t dig at all.

When working with fibreglass i use a small piece of formica. Its soft enough not to damage gell coat (and therefore engine parts too) but it can be sanded to give a razor blade edge (I have the scars to prove) and when the edge dulls, just sand it up again.

One of the best gasket removing tools I have used is a sharp wood chisel , being longer with a handle gives you control . If the gasket is really hard as suggested use gasket or paint stripper

I use thinners to soften/melt gaskets then a rag with more on to rub away the rest along with a razor blade pulled across the surface not pushed so it doesn't dig in.

john.

[Edited on 9/5/07 by Marlon]

"Gasket appears to be superglued on to my crankcase covers. What's the best way to remove without damaging the ally faces?"
Get rid of your bike engine and get something rusty from Ford. Then u can use a hammer and chisel for gasket removal without damaging the faces.
Seriously paint stripper works on some types of gaskets.

either stanley knife blade held in a gasket scraper holder, or castrol "chisel" aerosol gasket remover, available from cromwell tools