Mask suddenly started leaking - ideas why?

[BryanW]

Hi, I bought the Liquidskin version of the Mares Star mask a couple of months back and was very pleased with it at first. I used it on a course to about 20m with no leaks, and the first few days of a recent holiday in Greece it also stayed very leak-free. Then, after a gap of a couple of days when I did no diving, it started to let in water, not just at depth but on the surface, and this got rapidly worse until it was completely unusable. Now it doesn't even seal on the face when I inhale through my nose! (The main leak seems to be at the bottom of the skirt.) I tried adjusting the straps and the position on the face, to no avail. I can't detect any damage to the rubber. The only thing I can think of that might be relevant is that on the last "good" day I was wearing a different kind of sunblock and some got on the skirt. That evening I happened to be reading the instructions for a friend's mask which said you shouldn't get sunblock on it, so i washed it off with washing-up liquid. Could either the sunblock or the washing-up liquid have degraded the rubber so drastically? As I said, I really liked the mask and would buy another if I knew the damage to the first one was my fault and could be avoided in future.

Cheers, Bryan

[whucash]

My friend used Mares Purevision and it was the same problem with his..the plastic frame didn't stick with the glass..there is a special rubber sealing which was between the frame and the glass..the frame wasn't glued in any way, there were only some kind of clipse..now he is using Cressi Minima and is truly satisfied with it.
Cheerse

[BryanW]

You're right! I just tried filling the mask with water and there's a leak between the frame and one of the lenses. What a piece of junk.

Thanks again, Bryan

[pelcami]

Ei ~ Thanks Bryan and Whucash,

I tried on the Mares Star Liquidskin once. The skirt was very soft, and it FIT GREAT - but decided to wait a little while. Your thread here helped me decide to stop trying to find this mask. Since SporaSub bought Mares, it's been tough to find one for sale online or in US dive shops. Hopefully SporaSub will improve the product.

I currently use an Omer Alien. It fits very well ~ but leaves lines on my face (and I keep the straps loose). I am looking for a secondary, and likely will go with a Technisub Micro.

Cheers,
Tobin

[BryanW]

I tried to send the mask back to scubastore for exchange, but got not replies to my emails asking how to go about this. So in the end I repaired it with marine silicone, and the seal now seems to be fine. Anyone with the same problem I would asvise to try that.

[whucash]

Its alwyas the same in the shops..silence when THEY need to pay
Glad to hear you managed to repair it my friend bought another one and he told me that he never will use marse again
Cheerse