Wood, a versatile material, has been increasingly used in house building. The protection and beautification of wooden components used in houses and other constructions are achieved by the use of coating products. Choosing the right coating system is very important both to protect wooden surfaces against deterioration and to maintain their appearance for as long as possible following the formation of varnish and paint films. Thus, when choosing a coating product, one should consider the climate in the location where it is used and its impact on human health and the quality of environmental factors. Four commercially available coating products containg alkyd-acrylic, alkyd with Teflon, ureo-alkyd and alkyd were assessed in our research. One or two coats were applied on fir wood plates and exposed in four different climatic areas for 18 months. The films were assessed after 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively, by various techniques: thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), water contact angle measurement and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) - attenuated total reflection (ATR-FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).The best performance was noted with the hybrid formulation containing water-based alkyd-acrylic resins.