I don't usually post to this board but there are some procedural questions. First,remove the cabinet doors and hardware and thoroughly sand the doors and frames. Then, you can begin the priming process with a primer perhaps tinted with the final color. Even using an oil based primer, it will raise the grain some so you will need to resand after the first coat of primer is completly dry. Then apply the second coat of primer. This process should should give you the grain free surface you are looking for. I would then use a good matte finish paint which can be either oil base or latex. If I was doing it I would have the doors professionally sprayed although you can obtain a good surface using a good quality brush. there is a right way to approach this project if you want a quality job.

Steph, While I have used the Dutchlac (now called HollandLac) and not the ECO line, since you're asking about the reflectivity, I figure I can answer sensibly. I've used the Brilliant finish on my front doors but then again, I wanted the very high gloss. If you don't want high gloss then the Satin is the one to use. If you go to their "Inspirations" page on their home page and visit "Doors" for instance, you'll get a sense of just how high a gloss the Brilliant is especially compared to the Satin. The other links also show pics but the interior shots sometimes don't convey the reflectivity nearly as well. However, FPE's brilliants are very high gloss. If that's not what you want, you're looking for the Satin finish. Excellent stuff - FPE's paint. Are you painting it yourself? You'll have a whale of a time - that stuff is incredible to paint with.

A few things... Cabinet height & crown moulding. I think you made a good choice to go with 36" rather than 42" cabinets. If your crown moulding is going to the ceiling, you need to have room to adjust for the inevitable ceiling height differences (I don't think I've ever seen a kitchen that was perfectly constructed so all walls were true and all floors and ceilings perfectly level.) Small pieces of crown moulding will accentuate the difference while the crown moulding with the filler piece b/w the cabinets and crown that Barb mentioned, is used to accommodate the height difference. The height of the filler piece is adjusted to fit b/w the top of the cabinets and the crown that's against the ceiling. Differences of an inch or so are not noticeable. But, if you only have a small crown you will have gaps that will be obvious. Even if you had a small filler the height difference would be more noticeable w/the small filler than a larger filler. Sink Cabinet & Trash Bin. I agree w/you about the smaller sink cabinet. Space under a sink is not nearly as usable as a regular cabinet. I also found in my old kitchen that only a small trash can would fit under the sink and there was no room for a recycle bin....so we ended up w/a stand-alone trash and running to the garage with all our recyclables....which discouraged recycling for some members of my family (or they left the cans, etc. sitting on the counter hoping someone else would make the garage run). I think if you have room for a pullout then put one in...preferably one that will fit two bins, but that would require an 18" cabinet; w/15" I think you can only fit one sideways. The other nice thing about the pullout trash bins is that you can install a foot pedal for "hands free" opening (~$40 online including S&H)! Space b/w counter and uppers...be careful. No, 18" isn't "sacred" but many small appliances are built w/that 18" in mind. Be sure you check to see how tall your tallest small appliance is that you use on the counter--even if you don't store it on the counter. Add 1/4" or 1/2" (wiggle room) plus whatever the height of your light rail will be and that should be your minimum backsplash height. [Coffee makers, mixers, blenders, bread makers, etc.] Lazy Susan. We had a 36" Lazy Susan in our old kitchen (the type with a pole down the center) and all our pots & pans fit in it. Even though it was "builder grade," it was one of the few cabinets that was still in great shape and worked flawlessly for the almost 13 years we had our old kitchen! [Note: Our LS was one of those that had walls shaped in a circle so it followed the line of the circular shelves...so nothing ever fell off b/c there was no space to fall into!] Here's the design of my crown moulding. It's in 3 pieces. I have 8' ceilings and a mix of 36" and 30" upper cabinets. The "stock" piece is simply flat filler that was used to accommodate the variance in our ceiling height. We have a 3/4" difference from one side of the kitchen to the other and you can't tell by looking at our cabinets & crown moulding. I guarantee you, though, that it would be obvious if there was no "filler" piece or if the filler piece were quite short. (The "lower moulding detail" is the light rail design.) And here's how it looks installed. Here you can see how the 36" & 30" cabinets were done (the 36" cabinets are 15" deep, the 30" cabinets are 12" deep) (*sigh* No, no glass in the doors or glass shelves yet) Good luck!

Was thinking of using Sherwin Williams urethane trim enamel. So how does it look with having a solid door but the rest of the cabinet is oak. I still have to fill the grain on that part right?