How to make the perfect gasket??
 

I used ultra black. Seems like good stuff.

Outer edge was great. Very little seeped out. Then today I re-opened the case to look for a part I thought I missed and found all these snakes on the inside. Glad I opened it now.

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...psoztozyza.jpg

What's the proper method? Not smear the surface, but one bead?

You really only need a bead a couple of MM wide to create a seal. More is not always better in this case.

A single one millimeter wide bead. I always bias the bead about 3/4 the way to the outside edge so the majority of the snakes end up on the outside. I surround bolt holes right at the edge of the bolt hole.

hondabond or Yamabond

In this instance, the sealant won't act like a full paper or metal gasket and become compressed between the two surfaces. Instead, it will generally squirt out the sides as you found. It really doesn't take much sealant to fill the microscopic gaps between two machined surfaces.

In terms of application, I also use Ultra Black (and sometimes Ultra Grey, depending on the application) while I also lay down a thin bead, I then spread it out using my finger. I only leave a fairly thin layer. Thicker than what you might call a film but not much more than that.

personally, I would suggest using a contrasting color of silicone when making a gasket. if applied too liberally, it will show easily by squirting out. also I like to smooth it out with my finger, and paint it on to the surface very thinly. tighten it to contact and allow it to dry overnight and then torque it into place. when I was working on helicopters, there were certain times when grease was applied in a film which you could feel and not see. when using silicone to mate machined surfaces I use a similar technique.

Anyone know proper torque for these bolts?