Permatex Ultra Copper for gasket

I did it. I put a thick bead of the stuff on the lip of the base, with voids at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. I placed wax paper over the bead, placed some small wooden dowels (the kind you get when you buy assembly-required furniture) in the voids, closed the lid, and waited 24 hours.

The next day, I lifted the lid, and was pleased to find that the wax paper had flattened all the way around - in other words, I had applied the bead at uniform thickness all the way around and didn't have any shallow spots. I then took some more permatex, filled in the voids where I had the dowels, placed wax paper over them, closed the lid, and waited another 24 hours.

When all was said and done, I had a couple spots where the Permatex had flowed over the edge of the lip. I trimmed those spots with a utility knife. I now have an ugly-looking, but nice tight seal. I never get any smoke leakage.

The other thing I did later was just put a cut in the seal, so that I can squeeze my Guru probe wire in and not create a gap.

Hope this helps,
Keith

I would suggest using Saran Wrap instead of wax paper. I'll explain tomorrow, but take my word for it.