I'm not a professional, but I recently had my brush-painted cabinets replaced and had them sprayed by a professional painter. The sprayed cabinets look so much nicer because you can't see any brush strokes. Even and smooth. I think the durability is in the kind of paint you use. I had them painted with lacquer, which is more durable than latex. Good luck!

We sprayed our cabinet door and drawer fronts with SW Pro Classic Latex, and I love the way they turned out. I also hand brushed some end panels, trim pieces and crown molding. I found the paint went on so nicely, though it starts to dry quickly, I had to stop myself from going over it again.

For the doors and drawes, we used an airless sprayer and did them ourselves. We waited 24 hours between each coat and did one coat of primer and two coats of paint. They turned out wonderfully! The only real difference for me was the time involved in the actual painting process--especially the doors with bead board panels, and the smoother finish of the sprayed doors.

So far the paint is holding up well, and it is scrubbable, so that is always good. :^)

Exactly! With brushed you can see the brushstrokes. I had my dressing area cabinets painted by my housepainters so they'd have nice brush strokes (sloppy ones would be bad) because I think they look so much nicer than that smooth, sprayed look. :) I just depends on your druthers. The cabinetmakers do say, however, that the sprayed have a more durable finish. I don't know why, but it may be that there's a different base that is stronger and therefore doesn't brush well.

I'm with pllog-I want to see brush strokes. :)

Brushstrokes feel right for our 1913 house. On our cabinets and trim throughout the house, our painters are spraying primer and first coat and hand brushing the second (top) coat. Spraying is faster-and thus cheaper-for them. (They are charging us extra for brushing the top coat.)

Another consideration is that brushed cabinets will be easier/more forgiving if you have to touch up nicks/chips etc.

I think spraying is more durable if you're using a lacquer/conversion varnish type product. (Maybe that's what folks are referring to?) But if you're just talking about spraying vs brushing X paint, I'd imagine they'd enjoy similar durability...? Or maybe sprayed paint can go on more thin/even and make it less likely to chip? I don't know...