Anti-corrosion
Industrial & floors
Curing agent
Concrete sealers
Residential
Anti-corrosion coatings
Concrete is porous and chemically unstable. Traditional coatings peel. Zirconia's Ceramic Surface Treatment chemically bonds with concrete, forming a durable, non-porous composite that protects the asset indefinitely.
Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials in the world. It is strong, versatile and durable under the right conditions. But it has two fundamental weaknesses: porosity and chemical instability. Together, they let water, salts, acids and carbonation penetrate the surface, break down the cement binder that protects the reinforcing steel, and weaken the entire structure from the inside out.
Most coatings applied to address this problem do not solve it. Epoxies and urethanes are organic, plastic-based coatings that rely on surface adhesion rather than chemical bonding. They peel, blister and delaminate, especially under freeze-thaw cycling, UV exposure and moisture pressure. The result is a maintenance cycle that is costly, disruptive and never truly finished.
Zirconia's approach is different. By chemically bonding a ceramic composite directly to the concrete surface, the treatment becomes part of the structure rather than a film sitting on top of it.
The four practical challenges
Concrete's open pore network lets water, salts and contaminants travel inward, attacking the cement binder that protects the reinforcing steel.
Modern hydrating cements are chemically active. Without protection, carbonation, chlorides and acids steadily break down the binder, weakening the structure.
Epoxies, urethanes and other organic coatings rely on surface tooth to adhere. They do not bond chemically, so moisture and thermal cycling cause them to peel.
Unprotected concrete follows a build-corrode-demolish-repeat cycle. Each replacement carries a heavy financial and carbon cost that a durable treatment avoids.
Zirconia protects concrete from corrosion using Ceramic Surface Treatment (CST) technology. CeramycGuard™ is the foundation of that system: an inorganic alumina-silicate ceramic treatment that reacts with the concrete surface and chemically forms a new composite layer. The resulting material is an analog of granite, non-porous, biologically inert and immune to the agents that drive concrete corrosion.
Because the coating chemically bonds rather than adheres mechanically, moisture and temperature changes cannot cause it to delaminate or peel. It heals and seals both new and existing concrete, restores damaged assets and durably extends the service life of infrastructure.
CeramycGuard™ is also offered as a base coat for several extended systems, providing the surface foundation needed for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications, from wastewater treatment structures to bridge decks, industrial floors and coastal infrastructure.
Under the microscope (50x)
Our concrete protection systems
The core alumina-silicate ceramic surface treatment. Applied by brush and roll, it chemically bonds with concrete to form a non-porous, granite-like composite layer.
A penetrating treatment for existing concrete that rebuilds the binder as C-A-S-H and fills the internal capillary void space, adding a second line of defense against moisture ingress.
An alumina-doped colloidal treatment for fresh concrete that builds C-A-S-H from day one, letting CeramycGuard™ be applied in 5 to 7 days instead of 28 while densifying the new slab.
Download product documentation
Request technical documentation or talk to our team about specifying the right ceramic protection system for your concrete asset.