I had already decided on closer inspection the hole in the piston isn't very deep and has no thread so doesn't look like it has a conventional cup type washer involved.
I was assuming the possibility of tight tolerance washer less piston and an absorbing material at the end but didn't think the method really likely.
Looks like this is what it is though, I'm wondering if I could modify using a 23mm Diana type washer and tap a thread in the piston but why improve a crude design anyway? So I'll stick with the factory spec now I know what it should be.
The transfer hole in not central and the damper is, so the alignment isn't quite right, so I'll make a new one with a bigger hole in case it rotates. Now I have all the crud out of the latching groove it should solve that problem too.
Thanks Dave