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As the article states, weathering- with the aid of water as a catalyst assists or promotes alkali feldspar alteration into kaolinite by means of hydrolysis. This differs from the mechanical actions of weathering which include mass wasting by means of expansion/contraction, impact, or exfoliation. The alteration process in this case is a chemical reaction of specific rock components to dissolved ions, more pronounced by the increased acidity of the rain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by The shaman poet ( talk • contribs) 15:49, 19 May 2014 (UTC) reply

That's called chemical weathering. However, kaolinization may also occur as a result of hydrothermal alteration by circulating acidic groundwater. So as the lead specifically excludes weathering: It also differs from weathering - it seems the significant hydrothermal alteration regime should be mentioned. Vsmith ( talk) 17:36, 19 May 2014 (UTC) reply