So you’ve unboxed your brand new kayak or SUP and are seeing some white marks on the material. What are those marks, and how might they impact your new product?
Light marks from initial folding are a phenomenon known as “marbling,” and are a frequent occurrence on reinforced PVC materials that have been tightly folded and packaged after production.
Rest assured that marbling poses absolutely no threat to the structural integrity of your product and typically disappears after one or two uses.
Due to heavy-duty PVC behaves, factory fold marks are rarely perfectly uniform or consistent. Because the material is rolled and compressed under pressure to fit into the shipping box, certain spots; especially corners, overlapping seams, or areas near valves, bear far more concentrated pressure than a flat fold line. Almost all PVC constructed kayaks & SUPs exhibit these cosmetic markings out of the box, and they will fade over time.
Models with a darker styling such as the Black XF or Chelan, actually shows these temporary lines much more visibly than a bright yellow or white kayak would. The high contrast against the dark backdrop makes them jump out at first, but it is entirely cosmetic and has absolutely no impact on the structural integrity or durability of the side tubes.
As the kayak stays inflated, gets exposed to the sun, and warms up, the PVC will relax and those lighter marks will naturally fade away.
We hope this reassures you about those unusual white marks. Aquaglide products are covered by robust warranty terms that will remain in place long after the marks have disappeared.
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions at all about marbling.
