You'll need a set of long-nose snap ring pliers. VintageCB750 sells a set that works real nice. Tools turned me on to them and they worth every dollar.
http://www.vintagecb750.com/products/9/tools (nearly at the bottom of the page)
"Right Angled Snap Ring Plier Set - Reaches in deep to remove clips when rebuilding master cylinders.
Part #: 35-0009 $19.95"
When you go to remove the dust boot there is a circlip that holds it in place. A new one will come in the kit, so it's OK if you accidentally trash yours, but if you don't know it's there you'll wonder why the dust boot doesn't want to come off.
You'll have to depress the piston inside you m/c to take tension off the snap ring (the one the pliers are for) to remove it. This is the tricky part. It's hard to hold the piston down while you are fiddling with getting the snap ring out of the way.
What I have done in the past is to run a smooth-bodied (to protect the threads)screwdriver through the hole that your lever bolts in with. It gives you something to leverage against with another screwdriver to make it easier to hold the piston down. It will make sense once you see it in person. Of course, do the same thing when putting it back together.
Make sure to lay all the internal parts out in the order they came out. Then start assembling the new seals on to the new piston in your kit. It's super easy to do, just match them up to the old one to get everything pointed in the right direction.
Lube the new piston and seals with brake fluid before you start assembling things so you don't accidentally rip a new seal trying to stretch it over the new piston. They are pretty durn tight. And also lube the inside of the m/c bore before you go to install the new parts.
Don't use anything abrasive to clean the inside of the m/c. The bore for the piston needs to be nice and smooth for the seals to seal properly. And the inside of the reservoir has a coating (at least at one time
) to prevent corrosion. Long q-tips work good if it's not super funky. Carb cleaner is a good thing to use. It'll break down gum and varnish without attacking the aluminum or the coating inside the reservoir. I've used Walmart's Super Tech car cleaner and Berryman's both for this and neither hurt the coating.
Make sure to really get those tiny little return holes in the bottom of the reservoir clean. They are tiny,but you will be able to see easily when they are clean and clear. Lints from cleaning instruments can clog them easily, making it impossible to bleed the brakes later.
It's really a pretty simple job, you just need four hands to finaggle that snap ring out of there. :)
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