The wringer
washer is working again with a small leak, which is a bit smaller
than before.
I think silicone was a bad choice for this problem due to the nature of
the metal in question, but I went for it because it's what I had on
hand.
Next time I think I'll take john wilson's advice and use some of that
fiberglass bondo stuff when trying to merge this type of metal with a
hard plastic.