Favorite material for making new gaskets?

I?m restoring a 1948 Shaw Duall R-6 and currently in the process of replacing all gaskets and seals. All the original gaskets are paper for everything. In the past I?ve used cork, the heavy black paper, and gasket maker in the tube. I?m sure I?ll probably get as many answers as comments, but I?m just trying to find everyone?s favorite material and why. Thanks

Different applications require different gasket materials.

Sealing between 2 machined surfaces that need to be tightened securely is best done with paper gasket material. If the surfaces are in good condition, thin paper is sufficient. Thicker paper can be used for warped or pitted surfaces.

Cork is best for more irregular surfaces, like an unmachined casting, or a stamped sheet metal parts.

There is a hard black material for high heat applications. It is reserved for exhaust flanges, steam, etc. It is hard to work with, tends to break when being cut.

Lots of different gasket makers, high temp silicone is the current favorite, and can be used to substitute gasket material in a lot of applications. Just be sure to use it sparingly so not to block passages or squeeze into areas that don't need the contamination.

Many times paper gaskets serve 2 purposes, sealing and shimming. Typically used for preloading bearings, setting gear clearances, etc. In those applications it is critical to use the proper thickness or stack of thin gaskets to get the proper clearance or preload.

Then there are specialty composite gaskets, as in head gaskets, manifold gaskets. Not something you want to try to substitute.

My favourite material ? At the risk of sounding flippant , it's cereal box cardboard . The reason , it's usually always available at short notice and whenever I've used it it has never let me down .
Of course it won't work for high pressure or water applications but for things like transmission side covers and the like it's as good as anything else .

I make most of my own gaskets. I mic the old gasket and get 1/64, 1/32 or whatever is closest. Usually parts store or hardwares in the small rolls but you can get 18 x 36 inch rolls from NAPA.

Tony the tiger boxes....They're great.

I wouldn't use compressed cork under ANY circumstances, stuff is too brittle, eventually takes a set and starts leaking. They make a composite gasket material, grains of cork molded into BUNA N rubber,MUCH MUCH better material, much tougher.
Whether your assembling a paper, or composite, or a corn flake box gasket I'd use HYLOMAR ULTRA BLUE gasket dressing. You use it like Permatex Aviation Form-a-Gasket Gasket dressing but Hylomar really really works! I've had several situations where Permatex Gasket dressing didn't work.

I have used black roofing paper for gaskets.

Permatex ultra black gasket maker or permatex high temperature . Cork is not that bad but i wouldn?t make my own gaskets out of it . The valve cover gaskets for the 3020 and 4020 are cork I use a little Indian head or permatex aviation sealant on both sides then slowly tighten them down in about 4 steps the longer you can take between each round of tightening the better when you try and squeeze that cork to fast it will crack and leak replaced a pan gasket on a new Holland tv140 and it was hard to get the pan off I torqued that one several times throughout the day before finally tightening it all the way and it still doesn?t leak to this day . The only time I use cork Is if the own supply?s it other than that I like gasket paper of various styles depending on what I?m doing

Use a lot of "the right stuff on engine assembly. Have had good luck with it on its own and as a dressing.

I do as another has mentioned and use a paper gasket material that is close to the original in thickness, but slightly thicker. I keep an assortment on the shelf, you never know when you might need it and it doesn't go bad. Recently took a gearbox in to the machinist shop for new shafts and got it back only finger tight assembled (I had made up new gaskets beforehand). Tightened the bolts and discovered that one of the gaskets apparently was critical as a shim for the lash. Used a few sets of feeler gauges to get an approxmate thickness, grabbed an appropriate sheet of gasket paper and 20 minutes later the problem was solved.