Not sure about that thermal adhesive, but having the emitters on copper is the most important part. I take it the aluminum powder is very fine and that like you said you made it thin with acetone and pressure. So maybe it will be very effective. I think thin (even very cheap) paste would be better if your pill and bases were flat. Testing for thermal sag will tell you if your setup is working properly.
Thanks! 
Perfect http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-LOT-17MM-Insulation-Raised-Spacer-for-led-CREE-XM-L/1996622499.html
This driver can not run xm-l2 emitters on the absolute edge, like 8 amps, so it should be fine the way it is. Time will tell. This is not a state of the art flashlight, but I tried to pay attention to all details and do it properly. I am no modding guru and don’t have equipment to really test it, I simply wanted to try out a promising idea I came up with.
I finally made it work! I did not expect such a dramatic change with dedomed xm-l2s on noctigons! I had had xm-l2s on aluminum stars from the beginning and it was , but copper stars + dedoming have finally brought this flashlight into life! It is awesome! The throw is much better and the light colour is also great. The hotspot is much smaller than it used to be and the colour is warmer, but IMHO more natural.
BTW, I said a few bad things about the International Outdoor Store. All of them true though. The first leds I ordered did not arrive, they did not communicate about a solution and it took a rather long time to get the money back. Well, my first order at them did not impress me, but I decided to give them another chance, because everyone here seemed to be satisfied with them. So I ordered some new leds and they arrived within 2 weeks. No problems with this order at all. So I hope the first order was just a bad luck on both sides and I am honestly glad the second leds arrived. That is all for now.
Hi friends, I have a question. The light is still working, the leds are OK, but the driver is a bit of a nightmare. It has no low voltage cut off and even with protected batteries I managed to overdischarge one 32650 cell into oblivion… I need another driver that is capable of delivering around 5A to 3 xm-l2 leds, but has a low voltage protection for 3s configuration and has ± 25mm wide contact board. Could you suggest something other than drivers from mountain electronics? Their shipping prices are too high.
I dont care much about modes, I only need a driver for 3 XM-L2 with one 5A or so high mode and one low mode with a 3s low voltage protection feature that does not cost an arm and a leg to be shipped to Slovakia. Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for your help so far!