Steel wool on pistons?

[deadrabbit]

Is it safe to use 0000 grade steel wool on the faces of the pistons to remove carbon? I have been using 000 grade wool and kerosene to remove head gasket residue; is this a good idea?

1977 XS400D.

 

[lhaolpa]

There are scrapers for sale to scrape off carbon from pistons and for scraping gaskets a thin putty knife will do well for scraping carbon,but get a flexible one.Steel wool puts a lot of debris off and is hard to clean up,and to get out of the motor if it gets in there. lha

 

[deadrabbit]

I got most of the carbon off of the pistons with a bass bristled brush and soaking in a tin can full of brake cleaner. I would be polishing the face of the piston with the steel wool to help retard future carbon deposits.