Dumb question on repacking a muffler

Bought a Moose Racing repack kit Saturday and did my stock Arrow power-up kit muffler. The Moose kit even comes with new rivits!!
The hardest part was getting the caps off - I had to heat it up with a propane torch to expand the metal and break the old silicone seal, then they came right off. The outside of the old packing didn't look too bad and still had plenty left, but inside toward the core was really carboned up and the "steelwool-looking" stuff was in pretty bad shape. All back together and sounding quieter. Can't wait to see if I feel any performance difference.

I use 3/4 masking tape.