In the case of cylinder head bolts where I worked out a suitable torque figure a little light machine oil is all that is needed and it will not affect torque readings to a meaningful degree. For the rest of the fasteners on an M20 there aren't any torque settings as the bikes pre dated the introduction of the torque wrench...BSA manuals usually give a vague description such as 'do not overtighten' or 'tighten fully'..niether of which give a lot of guidance!!
So really it is down to developing the Engineers instinctive 'feel' for what is right, unless you already have that!...Ian