Forget the commercial fork seal tool, the cheap, thin, easily damaged one. Make your own out of a 16oz soda bottle. Then clean as follows...
I pull down the wiper and clean it with wd40, rinse and work it around the fork tube several times til clean. I work it around in an elliptical way so it works the dirt out.
Then I go to the seal. I rinse it out externally the same way, several times, pump forks and do it again til it comes out dirt free. It takes a little work to get all the dirt out of the area.
Then once it is externally clean I do the sealing surface of the seal. I use a piece of plastic soda bottle that is cut with about a 1/4" radius to do the cleaning. It has a curve built into the plastic that helps conform and it is thicker and tougher than the commercially sold plastic piece. I bent the one I bought the first time I used it and then went to the soda bottle. Lasts for years.
Work it around a couple of times and then pump the forks. Do it again. Do it again until it comes out with only a slight trace of oil. Put back together. If it is still pumping out LOTS of oil then maybe its a bad seal.
With this method I have only had to replace a couple of seals. If you cant find a gouge or ruff spot on the chrome part of the tube then the seal is PROBLY Ok. Clean it again. It only takes 20min to do it once you have done it once. I have to do each of my bikes 1-2 times a year and then they dont leak for months.
