[The Art Doctor]

Yes, some people choose to grease the original style copper gaskets. The early cars do not have pressurized radiators so the water is less likely to be pushed out past a gasket. The grease is so you can reuse the gaskets. The copper ones can be annealed with a torch to like new and used over and over if not bent. Some do not even bother with the torch but its good insurance. Copper gasket spray is an adhesive some use. Obviously as an adhesive it makes reuse of the gasket difficult. Aluminum spray paint is sometimes used to fill in small imperfections in the iron surfaces (spray the gasket not the block and heads) and help with sealing on a less than perfect surface.