Cheap Thermal Adhesive - JB Weld?

Simple resistor is not enough, active current control is needed.
The LEDs will heat up, drop in effective resistance, and then current flow will increase and overheating will just run way and destroy the LEDs.
Active current control prevents that.

I'm not sure of the ratings you need, start here and do some filtering for a good part:
https://www.digikey.com/products/en/integrated-circuits-ics/pmic-led-drivers/745?k=led+controller&k=&pkeyword=led+controller&pv1989=0&pv87=2&FV=ffe002e9&mnonly=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&stock=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25