Leave the Bees alone and go to a hardware store and buy a 'Toilet ring seal'. They too are made of wax (plummers wax) and a roll of white 3m electrical tape that come in a round plastic container.
Empty the tape container and put a 1/4 of the wax ring seal in it, mail me the tape. This amount will last a life time, so give the rest to a street begger.
S-H gliders have a tool to screw into the valve to pull down as one smears the wax into the seat area thru the gap. With a little practice, minimal is use and any dribblets of water can be stopped with little effort.
Every couple of years I clean the seat with a Q-tip and find a spot of wax about the size of a pea will last a racing season. The wax stays good even in the heat.
Never had a valve stick close.
R