I watched this get done on the DIY channel. Their opinion was that you will get smoother results using a sprayer rather than brushes.

This is my favorite website on learning how to pain kitchen cabinets. I LOVE the videos.
http://www.askthedecorator.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: painting kitchen cabinets

This was such a long process. Prep is key.

Obviously, take the doors off the hinges first. We washed them thoroughly with TSP. Then sanded. Wiped down again.

Then the fun began.

We were using oil based products. We used a paintable wood filler, oil based, called Pore-o-pac. Brush it on, scrape it off, sand. Reapply. some doors took 3 coats to hide the grain. It has to dry for awhile between each coat.

Then we primed. We started out with a sprayer, but I didn't love the "orange peel" effect I was getting. So we went to a good mohair roller. I brushed the paint on with a china brush in the grooves, and rolled out the rest. The paint is self leveling, so you can't mess with it too much. Go over it just a few times, then leave it to do its own thing.

After the primer, I did 2 coats of the enamel paint. Some doors may have gotten a 3rd coat. (BM, Satin Impervo Enamel)

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_br=1&_pageLabel=fh_home&np=productcatalog/product_pages/paint/prd_c235

Oh yes, and sand in between each coat lightly, then wipe with a tacky cloth.

Since we didn't spray them, we had to do each side separately. I did not do the wood filler on the insides of the doors--oh please, I would still be working on them. They look fine.

The paint takes about 14 days to fully cure before you can wash them.

If you have the plastic fake wood ends on the sides of your cabinets, (never knew I had them until this project), I have a little trick. Rather than buying the birch veneer to adhere to the ends, and painting it....I did this: I went to Lowe's, found a can of primer for plastic. It was the Lowe's brand, sort of like Krylon. It was a clear primer. I taped off & covered everything around it and sprayed it carefully. 2 coats, they dried quickly. I was able to paint right over it. Perfect.

so that's it in a nutshell. If I had to do it over again I would hire out the doors to a painter who could do them in a paint shop, while I did the cabinet frames myself. It really took a long time to do this.

Also, you should know that with oil based whites, there will be yellowing. So, if you go that route, plan on it getting a little creamier--nothing horrible. Mine still look great, but I can tell that they have changed.

I think there is a product called Cabinet Coat, it is water based. I've heard it is awesome, but yet some people say it is hard to work with. Check it out on the painting forum.

There was a recent post, who know where it is now, where the kitchen cabinets were painted and the homeowner said that the primer/wood filler she used gave her the smooth glass look. Sorry, but I can't remember anything more about it. Maybe she will see your post.

Good Luck to you with this project. It is time consuming, but it is so worth it.

I copied this blog from another GW poster when we were painting our cabinets last summer. Ours were not oak, so we did not have to use so much of the wood filler other than to patch where the hinges where located. We used BM Satin Impervo Waterbourne in Chantilly Lace. I used the foam rollers and they came out great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Life painting kitchen cabinets

I followed beekeepers prep but used latex semi-gloss put on with a brush. Two coats of primer to cover navy blue(!!) and then two coats of the finish coat in a pale grey-green. I used a brush because the door already had a bit of a raised grain pattern that showed through the paint, so I was careful to brush only in the direction of the grain. Once they were hung I looked at them all again and had to do a few touch ups. I painted them in the winter so I had to use a humidifier in the room to keep a wet edge.

We used an airless sprayer...

(Cue the celestial choir)

...and Sherwin Williams Pro Classic paint in latex.

We had unfinished doors to cover, so we didn't have the issues of painting over another finish or filling in wood grain, BUT man-oh-man, am I thrilled with how my doors look! We worked for 3 consecutive days, to get on the primer and two top coats, with 24 hour dry time between each coat. It took several hours each day, as we had a lot of doors to do, and not enough space to lay them and had to wait for them to dry a little to move the next batch in line.

If we would have had enough tables to lay out all the doors at one time, we could have done each coat in minutes.

It *almost* feels as if we cheated. ;^)

There are no shortcuts to the amount of WORK that this job will be. (Except maybe using a sprayer to apply the paint.) The painting is the quick part. Cleaning, sanding, filling and priming all will take up 2 months of nights and weekends for your average sized kitchen. Add in the two top coats, the glazing, the wiping, the touching up of the glazing and the protective finish, and you've added another 2 months of nights and weekends. But, it's worth it if you are on a budget and can't afford a pro or to buy new cabinets.

For your glaze I loved using Old Village® Graining & Glazing Liquids. They are so simple to use and give great results. I finished for about 3 years at a cabinet shop that did a lot of crackle and glazed finishes, so I have used many products. You can wipe on and wipe off as much as you want to get the desired look. Again I can't say enough about this product. Keep in mind when your wiping off keep your lines straight. The worst thing to see on cabinets is the graining lines curved the way someone's hand moved. Also keep your glaze consistant. Do one door and keep it in front of you so you can match each one to that door. Below is a link to their website.

http://old-village.com/products.html