Cleaning front cover

Inspecting the front cover I see it's covered with some sort of paint that's mostly flaking off..even inside the housing of the oil filter.  What do you guy do here...you blast it off...right?  I don't see any other solution...please advise:

Crank back from the machinist

Crank was magnafluxed, journals grinded, plugged and balanced...a thing of beauty:

Liner removal

These liners are really stuck in there...crud all over the place.  This is my Liner Removal Tool version...not good looking but effective!

 

More engine pictures...down to the crank!

Never been this far into an engine....FUN!!