Re-sealing 3 piece wheels?

Yesterday I scored some really sweet, early 80's vintage Gotti J140 wheels. 

In amazing condition given their age. The seller told me he had tires mounted up and they leaked at the seam so he put tubes in them. He said to fix them would require a  full teardown and to apply silicone between the halves. 

Now tubes aren't a solution for me. In my previous dealings with 3 piece wheels I have seen them sealed between the halves on old DP wheels which were impossible to separate and loads of BBS which just had a smear at the joint.

I know me. If I have to tear them down I will end up getting the centers re-anodized and polishing the lips and it will become an expensive and long process. If I can just dismount the tires, scrape off any mess at the seam and smear some schmoo on them I can rock the sweet original patina. 

I mean...

That sticker on the lip, when is the last time anyone has seen that?

What say you,  GRM braintrust?

or . . . the rubber straps (not the real name) used on wire wheels.

In reply to L5wolvesf :

Those bands don't really seal. They are intended to stop the spoke ends from chafing the tubes

In reply to Trent :

If you find a way, let me know.  The best I found without taking the wheels apart is clean it as well as possible then use Hylomar on it just before you put the tire on, fill it to max pressure and set it out in the sun for a few hours.  Then check the tire pressure the next morning.  If it's not down appreciably you might make out.  

I have so too wide 1980s  BBS 3 piece wheels i will need to take apart some day and change the wheel halfs  to narrow them , 

is there a way to soak them in something to loosen up the original sealer ?

Thanks for any info

I've done this, I used plain old black DAP shingle caulk (it's what I had). The wheels held up and didn't leak for 5 years and and 125,000 miles in my Mazda5 and then my 300ce. It worked. I laid down a single bead for the entire length of the seam then used my finger to smooth it in one continuous motion.

I used Toyota FIPG on my BBS RS when I redid them 10 years ago. Zero leaks. 

californiamilleghia said:

I have so too wide 1980s  BBS 3 piece wheels i will need to take apart some day and change the wheel halfs  to narrow them , 

is there a way to soak them in something to loosen up the original sealer ?

Thanks for any info

There is nothing, the best thing is to set the face on a 2x4 then lightly hammer another 2x4 Against the inside of the barrel around the edge until it comes loose. I can do that for you if you want, I LOVE working on 3 piece wheels.

Remove tire, wire wheel to remove old sealant, wipe with acetone, lay a new bead and smooth with a finger.

I know many many wheels have been assembled with schmootz between the halves, but the thought of anything flexible in that joint gives me the creeps.
My Desmonds have the face sandwiched between the halves, so I had to run two beads all the way around. I used some GE 100% silicone intended for household weatherproofing and have zero issues with leaks.