Should I seal the removable pieces on my stove?

[altspacen]

Hey there,
I bought a house back in July. In this house is a Timberline slammer with no blower in the basement and what I believe to be a Taiwan knockoff parlor stove in my theater. I haven't really had a chance to run the Timberline except once before I replaced the door gaskets. However, I have used the parlor stove a handful of times and had some questions. It's the one that everyone asks to ID and it comes up as a Taiwan knockoff that was sold from Montgomery Ward.
I've attached some pictures just in case you're not familiar with this one. I know the discoloration is from over firing, it was like that when I bought the house. I just sealed the seams around the sides, where the stovepipe mates with the top of the stove, and the back. Everywhere I could see light with my flashlight I sealed. It was most of the seams. I appear to have much better flow through the stove now as it doesn't pour smoke out the top of the stove at the alarming rate that it used to when I would open the door to load before sealing. But, I still don't think I should be getting smoke out of the top of the stove regardless of whether or not I have the door open. This leaves me with a small issue, the decorative pieces of stainless utilize holes into the firebox to mount themselves. Removing the top would expose the 2 platters that should be sandblasted and repainted and probably be sealed themselves to the removable top that just rests on top of the firebox. Removing the stainless front piece would expose the screws and make it look a bit uglier. What do you propose that I do with this? I'd like to run it this season and possibly the following as there are a few things that require my money before a new wood stove. This is not primary heat for the house so I run it mostly on cold weekends or when I want to add some ambiance when we're watching a movie.

 

[coaly]

The reason you get smoke around the top is because when you open the door, you no longer have a low pressure area or vacuum in the stove from the rising gasses in chimney. Is the flue the same size as stove outlet all the way up? All clean out doors and other inlets sealed so no cool air leaks in cooling the flue? Suspect weak draft first. (maybe just not hot enough before opening)
Any leaks into the stove between seams, doors or lids will be minimized when you control the draft with damper correctly. As you reduce draft with damper, it will not have as much differential pressure inside and out causing atmospheric pressure to rush into every crack.
What you are referring to as "two platters" on top may be removable lids? Do they have an indentation to lift with tool when hot? If so they should not be sealed. They are removed for cooking on top for direct flame contact on pans. Cast iron pans with smoke ring do the sealing.

Also make sure your damper handle is correct with plate indicating flow. If closed slightly that will slow draft causing smoke.