ORIGINAL: mrbigg
What about some wax paper over the edges of the baffles and then put a bead of silicone over that. Then attempt to install the cowl without knocking the silicone off the edges. I'm thinking that the silicone would stick to the cowl and seal up any irregular surfaces.
...shoe goo is another suitable adhesive, and sticks very well to cowls. But the silicone would be much easier to remove if you ever needed to.