As someone who makes UHV vacuum seals every day on physics experiments, the key is clean.
Of course we use knife edge metal seals and can have no oils anywhere near our vacuum components. Anyway....
I made sure to clean all surfaces and used spray silcone lubricant from a can, not Silicone RTV from a tube. The local auto parts store had their own branded spray for cheap.
1) I used a hot wet soapy sponge to wipe the 2 halves of the rim in and around the channel where the o-ring sits, then wiped down the o-ring and set it aside.
2) Separate the small o-ring from the valve stem, spray sown all mating surfaces with silicone, re-assemble and install valve stem in the rim and tighten.
3) I put a couple 4x4 chunks on the floor, rolled the larger half of the rim over and rested it on the 4x4 with the studs up.
4) Clean the rim and tire off as best you can so crud doesn't get knocked off the rim into any of the clean areas.
5) Smear soapy water over the base of the rim where the bead will sit.
6) Smear soapy water over the tire bead closest to the rim. (If using a bead lock, install bead lock before doing this step)
7) Tip the tire so it falls over the rim, then quickly pick up the side of the tire so things sit flat, sometimes you have to rock the tire back and forth. And press onto the rim until it rest on the 4x4s.
Now spray or wipe silicone around the o-ring channel in the lower rim. Drag your finger around the channel to get a good distribution.
9) Spray a clean rag with silicone and drag the o-ring thru the silicone on the rag by pulling / spinning the o-ring until fully covered. O-rings are silicone so they are compatible with the silicone spray.
10) Put the o-ring into the lower rims o-ring channel and smooth with a siliconed fingers to make sure it snaps into the channel. If you start with two fingers together at the top, smooth your fingers away and around the o-ring until they meet at the bottom of the channel. Using one finger will just continue to chase the o-ring excess around the channel.
11) Smear silicone in the upper channel of the rim as you did the lower section.
12) Soap up the upper rim section's bead.
13) Lower the upper rim section onto the studs of the lower section, paying attention to line up the valve stem holes.
14) Install nuts.
15) Using a star pattern, snug the nuts down hand tight, then using your impact wrench tighten in a circular pattern, increase tightness a little at a time until the nuts begin to tighten up, then you can stop at the spec'd torque setting. (tightening patterns are personal like ford vs chevy)
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