We are in the process of painting our oak cabinets now. I can post pics later (when I'm not at work) if you are interested. We are doing the work ourselves. LIke the previous posters have said, it is time consuming. We bought a house in foreclosure and gutted the kitchen. I found great cabinets, in a horrible pickled oak finish, at restore. There is some great advice on this forum, and we also found a good article on painting cabinets on the this old house magazine website. Here is the process we are using: (1) removed all doors and hardware--you have to fill in holes if you are changing hinges or knob position. (2) rub down with liquid sander/deglosser. This cleans and roughs up the finish. (3) Sand with 100 grit paper, vacuum, and wipe down with mineral spirits or tack cloth. Seems duplicative of step 2, but this what was recommended to us so we did it. (3) Fill in grain, and fill dents. We used thinned down MH ready patch and applied with a paint brush. This was much less expensive than Brushing Putty and filled the grain well, but not perfectly. (4) Sand with 220 grit paper, vacuum, and wipe down with mineral spirits or tack cloth. (5) Prime (we used instl-x stix, which was expensive and I don't think it worked as well as the much less expensive kilz or zinzer primers (6) Sand again with 220 grit paper, vacuum, and wipe down with mineral spirits or tack cloth. (7) Caulk all gaps on doors and frames. We found we had to sand a bit again after this step, which meant more vacuuming and cleaning. (8) Paint--we are using Ace Cabinet and Trim (we couldn't find cabinet coat in our area). This paint is good at concealing brush strokes, but does not coat as well as some other paints and takes FOREVER to dry. Not sure I would use again. (9) Sand(again!!) with 220 grit paper, vacuum, and wipe down with mineral spirits or tack cloth (10) Paint final coat. (11) let cure (about one week). (12) reattach hardware and hang We just finished step 8. So I am not sure if two coats of paint is going to be enough. Started step one two weeks ago, and we probably have another ten days to go with the sanding, painting, and curing still to go. Not a quick process by any means. Good luck.

If your flooring professional has Loba Invisible 2K, then they have access to Loba 2K Supra AT. The Supra AT is the BEST OF THE BEST in the Loba line up and will create an EXCELLENT surface that is scratch resistant with a lovely velvety/grippy feel to it (it has the best antislip properties of any finish on the market). The $40/gallon water born finishes from 40 years ago are the one's you have heard stories about. In today's world, all the product development is with water based (because oil based is illegal in Europe). Which means the last 10 years (I would even say the last 5 years with Loba) have seen a MASSIVE jump forward in performance. And remember: oil based finishes have HORRIBLE odours that can take MONTHS to dissipate (summer months when the doors and windows are open 24/7). In winter it can take twice as long to get rid of the odour. And for some that means hotels or staying with family/friends for the whole time (no one likes a house guest who sticks around for 4 months). And the oil based finishes turn "yellow" within a few DAYS (you will never see the gray you were hoping for). And then they turn orange (darker yellow) over time...like a few years.

OK...oil based poly STINKS for WEEKS afterwards. And it turns the 'orange yellow' you are describing. And it will turn ANY COLOUR you choose to an orange tone. If you like the idea of the finish off-gassing for 30+ days while you try to find a place for yourself and kids and dog to live, you are welcome to go with it. I'm not a fan of oil based. The VOC contents are ASTRONOMICAL (880 g/L in one of them...compare that to the CARB requirement of LESS THAN 175 g/L in California). Many of these finishes are illegal in California and the 11 states that have adopted the CARB II indoor air quality requirements. It is a myth that oil based finishes are TOUGHER than water based. Polyurethane is polyurethane is polyurethane. The issue is when you go for the same PRICE TAG as the oil based finishes. A low-priced oil based finish (that has been on the market since the 60s without so much as a PRINTING up date on the can let alone a recipe change) is DIRT CHEAP. Why? Because those companies made their money DECADES AGO. Now they are just enjoying the HORDES of money from the investment they made in the 1950s (nope...not kidding). If you get a 'dirt cheap' (aka DIY level product from Home Depot!!!) water borne poly you will get what you paid for = a DIY level finish that is not as tough as the toxic stuff from the 60's. The TRICK is to work with HIGH PRICED water based finishes. The stuff that comes in 2 part products (call the finish and the hardener/catalyst). They carry big names like Bona or Loba. They carry high price tags (like double or triple the cost of the toxic stuff). They also carry VERY IMPRESSIVE wearability. The big boys from the big boys (Bona Traffic HD or Loba 2K Supra AT) are the toughest finishes outside of a factory. They are MAGNIFICENT. The PROFESSIONALS that work these finishes are the best of the best as well (or should be...some hammer swinging 'guys' give it a go once in a while and it shows...). And those people are not CHEAP. Why? Because they took the time out of the schedules and money out of their own pockets to attend the 3-5 day training courses for these finishes. Only the DEDICATED do that. Everyone else just looks it up on Youtube. My quest to you is: How happy would you be to find the house unlivable for as many as 30 days because of the stench? Are you a migraine sufferer? Do you get nose bleeds? How about your kids? Does anyone in your family have 'sensitivities', allergies, asthma, COPD, etc? If anyone has any of these things I've listed, then oil based is out. I've seen people get nose bleeds from sleeping in a home with freshly finished floors with oil based poly. Some vomit. Most have BLINDING headaches. Migraine sufferers can't go further than the front steps...the smell stopping them from entering the house. Just because it says 'can be walked on' in 1 day and furniture back in 5 days...doesn't mean the SMELL is gone.

Gaby what did you end up going with? Hi a have been through one contractor already because he would only put a clear on the floor as a sample why I ran around picking out stain colors! And now I have hired somebody else but he is an available to start till November. So I would love to know what you ended up doing to get the best possible outcome on your red Oak!