Reinforced concrete is usually subjected to carbonation attack. Although it is a slow
development pathology, the consequences can be high, precisely in the places with greater
human, residential or industrial occupation. To make matters worse, carbon dioxide
concentration in the atmosphere has been increasing due to the impact of climate changes and
also to the growth of number of large cities. One of the ways to increase the resistance to
carbonation attack may be through the application of concrete coatings. In fact, many current
constructions have a protective skin on the concrete, often ignored in the durability design
project. For these reasons, this research has looked into the efficiency of the coatings when
applied on concrete. Priority was given to traditional unpainted coatings, with cementitious
base, hydrated lime or both. A coating based on fly ash and a thin coating of cement were also
tested. All of them were applied in an ordinary Portland cement concrete. Accelerated
carbonation tests were performed and the results were excellent. It was observed that the
performance of the coated concretes was, on average, about 65% better when compared to the
uncoated concrete.