Concrete sealers · Infrastructure

ConcreteCare CS-42™

The Bridge Deck Longevity System. A two-stage penetrating treatment that extends the life of reinforced concrete bridge decks by decades, installed in a single overnight closure.

A reinforced concrete highway bridge structure, the kind of asset ConcreteCare CS-42 is designed to protect

Treat the deck you have instead of replacing it.

A bridge deck does not fail because the concrete runs out. It fails because salt and carbonation reach the reinforcing steel inside it. ConcreteCare CS-42™ is a chemically bonded corrosion barrier that goes after both, sealing the deck against chloride ingress while preserving the alkalinity that keeps the embedded steel passivated.

It is a two-stage penetrating treatment, not a coating or an overlay. Stage 1 soaks deep into the deck and rebuilds it from the inside. Stage 2 seals the surface without forming a film, so skid resistance is preserved and there is nothing to delaminate. The result is a deck protected for decades beyond its typical replacement cycle, and an aged deck that has already begun to deteriorate can be restored in place.

CS-42 is the infrastructure product. Its stablemate for driveways, walkways, patios and pool decks is the ConcreteCare Ceramic Shield System™, built around the CS-01 sealer. The two share a name and a chemistry family, not a specification. For the chloride and carbonation mechanism in full, see how to stop salt corrosion.

CS-42 at a glance

  • Two-stage penetrating treatment, no surface film
  • Preserves skid resistance, nothing to delaminate
  • Chloride diffusion reduction over 50% (ASTM C1556)
  • Holds pore pH in the steel-passivating 11.5 to 12.5 range
  • Fills micro-cracks and rebuilds the deck from within
  • Halts carbonation at the treated surface
  • Water-based, no odor, no flash point
  • Coverage about 175 sq ft per gallon per stage
  • Installed in a single overnight closure
  • Deck reopens to traffic within 24 hours

How it works

Two stages, one overnight closure

01 · Stage 1

Penetrating treatment

Soaks deep into the deck, fills micro-cracks and rebuilds the concrete from the inside, restoring an aged deck in place rather than resurfacing it.

02 · Stage 2

Surface densifier

Penetrates and seals deeply into the surface without forming a film, so the deck keeps its skid resistance and there is no coating to peel, blister or wear off under traffic.

What it does for the deck

Protecting the steel, not just the surface

Keeps the steel passivated

Reinforcing steel is protected by the alkalinity of the concrete around it: above about pH 11.5 its passive film reforms faster than it dissolves. CS-42 holds the pore solution in that steel-passivating 11.5 to 12.5 range, and the restored binder actively buffers the alkalinity rather than simply sealing it in.

Cuts chloride ingress

Chloride diffusion is reduced by more than 50% when tested to ASTM C1556, so road salt and sea spray reach the rebar far more slowly.

Halts carbonation at the deck face

Carbonation drives the pH down and strips the steel of its protection. Sealing the surface shuts down the carbonation front where it starts, at the face of the deck.

Restores rather than replaces

An aged deck that has already begun to deteriorate can be treated in place, where the usual route has been to demolish and rebuild.

Nothing to delaminate

Because both stages penetrate instead of forming a film, there is no membrane or overlay to debond, blister or wear through under traffic.

Skid resistance preserved

Because the treatment penetrates rather than coats, the deck keeps its existing surface texture and its skid resistance. There is no film sitting on the driving surface.

Where it is used

Reinforced concrete in salt and carbonation exposure

Bridge decks

The primary use case. Both new decks being protected from day one and aged decks that have already begun to deteriorate.

Parking structures

Multi-story decks carrying de-icing salt in on vehicle tires through every winter.

Marine decks

Structures exposed to sea spray, tidal cycling and permanently high humidity.

Reinforced concrete in salt or carbonation exposure

Any reinforced surface facing carbonation, salts, sea spray or high humidity where the embedded steel is the asset at risk.

Installation

A single overnight closure

  1. Preparation The deck is cleaned free of oil, grease and loose material, then pre-wet to a saturated surface-dry (SSD) condition.
  2. Stage 1 Applied with a low to medium pressure sprayer and worked into the deck with a soft-bristle broom or squeegee, then allowed to cure.
  3. Stage 2 The surface densifier is applied by the same method.
  4. Reopening The full system is typically installed in a single overnight closure, with the deck ready to reopen to traffic within 24 hours.

Traffic: the deck is typically ready to reopen within 24 hours of the system being installed.

Request the ConcreteCare CS-42™ one-sheet for complete application specifications and site conditions.

Technical data

ConcreteCare CS-42™ specification

Chemistry
Water-based two-stage penetrating treatment
Appearance
Clear to white liquid
Odor
None
Flash point
None
Coverage
About 175 sq ft per gallon per stage (16 m² per gallon)
Chloride diffusion reduction
Greater than 50% (ASTM C1556)
Packaging
5 gallon (18.9 liter) pails, sold as a matched two-stage system
Storage
Two years in original sealed containers, indoors, 35°F to 100°F (2°C to 38°C), out of direct sunlight, protected from freezing
Application limits
Do not apply below 35°F (2°C) or above 90°F (32°C), or if rain is forecast within 24 hours
Handling
Irritant to skin. Wear gloves.

Talk to us about your deck.

Tell us the structure, the exposure and its condition, and we will tell you whether ConcreteCare CS-42 is the right treatment for it.