Wood is very susceptible to weathering when used outdoors because of its inherent nature of UV degradability and dimensional instability. Without effective protection, wood rapidly loses its attractive natural appearance and becomes unserviceable within a few years. Protection has traditionally taken the form of system design to avoid trapping water, and surface finishing to shed water and prevent UV degradation. Unfortunately, surface finishes such as paint and stain last only a few years and the need to repeatedly refinish wood has led to the perception of wood products as high maintenance building materials. The objective of this project is to develop fundamental information leading to processes which can be used by our industry to produce high- performance wood products with extended service lives and low maintenance requirements. The project has been focusing on UV resistance to the present stage. Wood samples were treated with chemicals that have UV stabilizing properties and their weathering performance evaluated by both accelerated and natural weathering tests. UV-visible spectroscopy was used to monitor the color change, and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy) was used to monitor lignin degradation on the wood surface. Rate of erosion, water absorption, and dimensional change during accelerated weathering was also studied. Preliminary weathering results are discussed in this report and recommendations made for further research.