There are many products on the market for protecting masonry. Experience shows a wide range of effectiveness exists when measuring these products. Some are excellent and some are quite poor. It is important to review testing data and check references before making a product selection. Also, all products are not good for all substraits. Poreosity of the material should be considered when choosing a product for your project.
As with all masonry treatments, it is advisable to perform a small test to determine suitability for your specific substrait.