Do these pistons look ok?

[RIO5.0]

I was wondering if I could just use a vac. to suck up the particles as I scrape them off, but I wasn't sure if I'd still have some bad after effects by doing that.

If you lay the vac at the bottom of the piston and flick it on before you start, pretty much everything you scrape off is gonna be taken away instantly....
I think I used paint reducer on a rag and soaked the carbon then went at it, GENTLY, with a razor. The reducer softened the carbon up some,.....got the majority like that....then small 1.5" scotch-brite pads with some reducer on em and finished it off...Long as your cautious of what your doing it'll be just fine....keep the vac going and whisk the stuff away if you see any go over the edges...stuff rags in the adjacent bores so you dont get nothing falling into em..
I do one then roll it down in the bore and wipe it with WD or the like to keep it from oxidizing...It wont take long unprotected and she'll rust right up...specially if its gonna be opened up a week or more...

 

[Zero Signal]

I also brought each one up to TDC and then used a wirebristled drill head to clean off my pistons. Got them nice and shiny too. THen i blew them out with compressed air afterwards. Worked well and that was like 10k miles ago.

Ditto. Worked very well and took maybe 45min to do. Just make sure you get all the crap out around the rings.

 

[YEAHLOH95]

you could bring t up to top dead then run some tape around the edge ,so nothing gets in by the rings then clean away