The cabinets I think were Cypress. I live in Louisiana & I have the remodel plans from the person that built the pool house addition & they call for cypress. That is a wood that is native to here but, the grain is much like an oak so maybe it is cypress or maybe it is oak. Anyway, there is definitely a grain to it. DH and i argued about the primer coats & how many to put. I won that won (not that it got me anything) because the ones I did don't show any graining with 2 coats of primer. The ones he did do. So if you have thick coat of stain and/or any top coat on oak, you have to sand really well first. Then 2 coats of primer are a must - IMHO. I can see the grain in the ones that DH did and it drives me nutso. Like the underneath of the upper cabs for example. If he had sanded better & done 2 coats of primer, I don't think you would see it since I don't see the grain on the other surfaces. Who knows though because they were custom cabs, the cabinet guy could have used other woods too. They are 8 years old. Don't be afraid though. It is a lot of work but, if you follow the advice on this forum, the result is worth it. The cabs are not that shiny, it's just the lighting in the pool house is not great. They are very pretty. To the poster that asked about DIY cabs, there are some, mostly though people rip out old and put in new. I think that totally depends on the age of the cabs and the condition. If you can save what you have you are technically "going green". How in vogue is that? If they are nasty and have no character to them, then you have to start over. I have seen several posts for people that re-did therofoil or whatever it is called. It is more detailed what needs to be done but, nonetheless, less than new cabs are. I have friends and have seen many posters whose cabinets were $75k. Wow, that's a ton of money. So if you can figure it out, use what you have! Go for it. A little at a time is fine too. If you hate your cabinets, paint them. There are many posters here that have black, blue, brown or white cabinets. All look good. If you can use what you have then a little paint is so cheap compared to new. To be honest, I have the same types of cabinets in my kitchen, laundry, DD bath in my 1950s/remodeled in 2000 house that are 8 years old. All of those cabinets, I will either paint or have painted professionally, the wood is not really nice enough to restain. The ones in my Master bath & guest bath that are original to the house and then painted from 1950, they are out. They are just flat front wood nothing cabinets. There is no saving those. Anything in the last 20 years thougth might be savagable. There are so many options for colors. I can post some colored cabinets from my inspiration file if you would like to see them. that will show you paint grade cabs that are just beautiful.

Some good points in your post Liz! Considering your 2-coat 123 priming, neither paint should be raising the grain. Were these trials over the primed surface, or on "bare" wood doors? They are 2 different paints obviously... * For a new painter, the Aura will seem finicky/fast set-up times. You could add some of XIM's Latex Xtender to help it level better, and slow the set-up time. * The ACE Cabinet paint is a "Hybrid", meaning it's "Both" Latex paint, AND a harder-resin Alkyd polyrethane paint. * The ACE requires 24 hrs. between coats to level itself out, and harden-off enough for the 2nd coat. * Aura would be ready for 2nd coat in 2-3 hours. * I did my ACE sample-boards on some primed/sanded pallet boards. They still look very nice! Faron

I believe Impervo would provide the best finish.

Airless is not a finishing tool. It is meant to throw paint on the outside of the house where you do not need a fine finish. You need a fine finish on your cabinets, just like a furniture finish. They need to use an HVLP sprayer. It is a fine sprayer used on furniture and cars etc. HVLP is not for painting the outside of the house. I am sorry if I sound pedantic. Aura is a high viscosity coating. It is not so easy to spray without the right equipment. It requires a 4 stage HVLP sprayer. There is lots of good info on the Apollo HVLP site. I hope I don't sound like I am trying to sell equipment. I've used an Apollo for years on all sorts of projects, including refinishing my kitchen cabinets 10 years ago to rejuvenate a miserable old kitchen. All the drips etc can be sanded out and resprayed. Here is a link that might be useful: HVLP sprayers