Interesting to see the Curil T problem Aaron mentions.
I have installed the cam seals in the past with a sticky-like gasket sealant (Permatex copper) and recently have had mixed results. My most recent installation on the racecar had a leaky left (cyls 1-2-3) and I had to re-do it. Upon disassembly the gasket was off-center like Aaron's pic shows, causing a significant drip down the chain box & eventually onto the exhaust.
So since it looked like the gasket moved and got stuck during installation, I used Curil to allow the gasket a bit of slipperyness to seek it's desired position during install. Worked fine and no leaks. Granted this was a short duration gasket because I wasted the engine the next time I hit the track with it..... But a friend who's built several engines swears by his use of the Curil and strongly recommended I use it to avoid having another leak. So I guess results vary on the Curil.
I just get miffed by the 574 cleanup. Especially since the old tried and true Permatex gasket remover spray that used to work SO good at removing the cured 574 is now a low VOC formulation and sucks butt at removing 574. I resorted to Loctite Chisel spray recently and it works so-so. Not nearly as effective at removal as the old Permatex butt whooping spray.
Incidentally I chose to use Curil on one of the chain box gasket areas where it mates to the engine case. My heads in this instance were cut down so much that the bore in the chain box was not aligning well with the cam housing. So I used no gasket and just a light coat of Curil. Worked good. Could've used 574 there too.
What I certainly didn't want to use again was Permatex aviation gasket sealant. That brown sticky stuff doesn't do all that good in my experience. Although it does clean up pretty easy with brake or carb cleaner. Some have mentioned on the rebuild forum that it is their sealant of choice. I'm surprised because my use of it on cam tower sealing areas did not go well. Apparently the brown stuff needs to be used very sparingly because any excess starts to migrate when it gets hot. Not to mention I didn't think it did a very good job of sealing either.....
Just curious, are those center-oiled cams you pictured Aaron? I've not seen them before and cams i've worked on with the large retaining nut have been only "dimpled" in the center.
Thanks for sharing the experiences. Always good to add more info to the brain database......
