The surface properties of plasma sprayed Al2O3- and TiO2-based coating materials were characterized in order to investigate the influence of surface strain and phase inhomogenity. The materials were water exposed up to 8 months. The bulk crystallographic structure, dissolution behaviour, effective charge (zeta potential, isoelectric point), surface compositions and oxidation states were determined. In addition, the properties of the aging solutions, such as conductivity, supernatant pH (point of zero charge), and redox potential, were monitored during aging. It was shown that the materials were stable under aging conditions, but that considerable surface rearrangements, such as dissolution-reprecipitation and surface site redistributions may occur. However, overall only minor changes in surface properties results from this restructuring process. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.