The seam is slightly noticeable but overall the quality is much, much better than method one. I didn't take many photos since I was in a hurry to get this done and shipped off to my customer, but here are the steps. Feel free to comment if you have any questions.
Once it's fired, before you clean it, wrap it around a mandrel to form a ring, very similar to how you would make a soldered ring. The fired PMC should be malleable enough to bend it without much trouble. For some reason, this time it was very stiff, so I just annealed it with a torch, heating it until it glowed red and then quenched it in water. This made it easier to wrap into a ring shape. I measured it on the mandrel, bending it carefully but firmly until it was the size I wanted. It was pretty close - just a little shy of the size 6 I needed. NO worries. First, I filed the edges at the join until they met nicely, and then I added a small bit of PMC clay to seal the join. I did this similar to how I sealed the crack in Method 1.
As I learned from the first try, you really want this to look smooth and nearly perfect before firing. smooth it over with your fingers or tools, or whatever, and then wipe the rest clean with a damp cloth. Let it dry completely, then refire in the kiln.
When I pulled it out of the kiln, it looked great. I pounded it on the mandrel until it was round and a perfect size 6. Then, I tumbled it and polished it the same way I described in the last post, and I am very happy with the results. I like this method a lot better.
And now, voila, I have the ring for my customer and all I need to do is pack it up and mail it. I hope you've learned some things from my mistakes here and happy PMCing!
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