There must be a way. I would keep looking. In the meantime, have you considered refacing your cabinets?

Here are a few pics. Happy to say that the very last of the white ceramic tile on the floor was just smashed into many small pieces!!! Thank goodness. What a job that was.

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I have some images of before and after. It can be done.
I would suggest you sand in between primer coats and
consider filling in any uneven spots with wood filler.

If this idea is too much have you thought about gel
staining?
~boxerpups

GW gel stain?
http://forums.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0519235617666.html?12

Abufish gel stained her cabinets but....
http://forums.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0423180127105.html?15

Here is a link that might be useful: painting oak gw discussion

I am painting my cabinets and I think I would take the painted wood grained cabinets any day over orange cabinets.

You can use MH Ready Patch to fill in the grain or Brushing Putty by Fine Paints of Europe. Check out their site, it's expensive but worth it.

You can't get any worse than orange oak.

Yeah You can, klf7, White!!!!

Talk about cardboard boxes and cardboard houses!!!
Most animals, so they say, can not see color, We Humans can.
Unfortunately, too many, especially Kitchen folks don't utilize the asset to see color.

Why not just start a Kitchen Cloning Factory? Turn out all these white kitchens with white subway tiles. Never mind!!!
The Cloner is obviously in "Full Production" Now!!!!!!

Gary

I must be in the minority but I like to see the grain of oak when it is painted. It isn't like dark knot holes or dark lines bleeding through, just the wood texture.

I don't know if you are on Facebook but if so "Creative Cabinets and Faux Finishes, LLC "does them all the time. Sometimes they have pictures of projects they are working on and recently they were doing oak to white cabs. They sand down the oak and get it smooth as glass. They look beautiful. Also, if you aren't up for that, what is so bad about it showing through? A showhouse in our area painted an oak island "black" and the grain showed through, it was interesting. It had a beautiful granite counter top called White Spring on it. If the grain shows through just go with it! : ) But if you don't like it lots of extra prep will take care of it. Check out their FB page for more info.

Honestly, you don't need to spend a lot of money (unless you choose to) to smooth out that grain -- you can get a variety of grain fillers and they're not expensive. Filling grain is really quite easy - apply the filler, let it set up a bit, scrape off the extra, wait to dry fully, sand smooth, then use a primer for painting.

Here is a link that might be useful: WunderFil (for instance)

I think you could get a lot of mileage out of new finishes on everything else and leaving the cabinets in the original finish, if you are leaving the cabinets anyway. New hardware, countertops and flooring could change the entire look of the kitchen.

I think unless you are an exceptional painter you may get a result that is more photogenic perhaps, but not all that great in real life. While some of the kitchens above look distinctly better, I have seen some that look different than before, but not necessarily better, and some, I think, look worse.

I have painted some oak cabinets, and no wood grain showed through. My finish is perfectly smooth. But your finish depends on your prep, patience,and products. Some of my neighbors slapped paint on the same oak cabinets, and it looks terrible.

For mine, I removed the doors and hardware, cleaned with TSP and mineral spirits, repeatedly, because a former cleaning lady had used Pledge. The silicones can cause new finishes to develop little craters called fisheye. I also modified my paint with silicones as extra insurance against fisheye. I then lightly sanded with 120. I slapped on a coupled coats of shellac in case I ever change my mind and want to strip off the paint. I used a high quality paint with 100% acrylic resin. I rolled it on with a fine foam roller, I think about 4 coats, sanding perfectly smooth between each coat. I can't remember exactly, but I think the grain was covered after 1-2 coats.

I have tested a lot of paints (but not in the last several years, so formulas may have changed). I ruled out the cheapest (Behr), and the most expensive (Fine Paints of Europe). I liked both BM Regal and Aqua products. If I were using an off-white in a well-lit room I would consider oil-based paint. It levels beautifully and is more durable.

Count me in as loving the wood grain. Better to make it stand out, than try to erase it!

I almost did my kitchen in expresso oak, wood grain and all! The only reason I didn't, was because the KD was a snotty beeetch. I loved the grain in the dark color.

I've had painted oak cabinetry (POs did it, not me) and enjoyed the wood grain. No mistaking those for melamine! It's not a bad look at all. It just looks like wood.
Your cabinets aren't ugly though--maybe staining them darker like your banister would be easier if you don't want to see grain through paint.

What other changes are you planning? I think your oak is nice it is not orangy like mine was and I think a wood finish suits your style home better than a white would. maybe finish with the floor and add some hardware and make your other planned changes and than see how you feel about your space if you are still not that into it you can revisit painting. i stained my orange oak darker it is alot of work to change finishes with stain, gelstain or paint so waiting to make sure you really have to is a great idea. I am happy with my finish now and at the time i refinished them I thought I detested oak but all of a sudden, 7 years later, I am really liking lighter oak maybe it is because we hardly ever see it anymore...

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond and offer suggestions, advice etc. My favorite painter suggested either painting them a color other than white ( I do not want to do that) or staining them as well. He seemed confident that we could get a really nice look going that route. Staining just might be something for me to look more into. I had thought I decided to add hardware and wait until after the floors are finished, new ss appliances are in, new counter top is installed and hope that I wouldn't even care anymore about the cabinets but then today I started seeing some beautiful white cabinets. I do like the warmth of the wood but worried with wood floors and the oak table (hubby wants to keep) it would just be way to much wood. I guess as roarah said, I should try those things and try living with it for awhile and can always revisit other options. Thanks again.

I saw this blog last week and thought you might want to take a look at it. She used Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations from Home Depot. I'll put the link to the description below. Here are the before and after photos:

The kitchen reveal link is here: http://shoestringsophistication.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-06%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-06%3A00&max-results=50

Here is a link that might be useful: Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations

I have to agree with eandhl, uroboros5 and fori.... I like the grain of wood. Why is that a bad thing on painted cabinets?

I have painted my oak cabinets several times in different colors (they are now black and turquoise), and I never worried about the grain showing. I just had to turn on the light to check and, yes, you can see the grain! So what? They look like wood that's painted. I agree with some of the above posters that there is nothing wrong with that. Not only that, I also think your oak cabinets look pretty. The wall color looks great with the oak.

Hi,
To eliminate the grain on previously-finished oak you would need to use "Swedish Putty" (brushing putty) sold by Fine Paints of Europe.
It's akin to doing fine bodywork on a classic car to get the paint just so. It takes longer to prep than to do the actual painting.
Casey

Paste wood filler has been the 'grain filler' of choice for a very long time.

It is very finely ground sand in a base that hardens.

It is always to thick in the can and needs to be thinned before painting it on, letting the solvent 'flash off' (the layer turns from glossy wet to matte) and than the excess is rubbed off using burlap across the grain.

I just finished painting my oak cabs a light gray. I agonized about the grain on here. But in hindsight, it's the very least of my worries. The kitchen transformation is wonderful, the grain is not a big deal IMO. Now the work involved in painting the cabs... that was a big deal :). Hope I don't have to do them again for a long time!

I have to say, I've seen a ton of kitchen updates involving painting oak cabinetry (including my own 13 years ago) and I've never had a problem with the grain. It so freshens and lightens a kitchen, generally also making it look much larger. In my case, painting the cabinets single-handedly brought the kitchen into the current century and breathed at least a decade of GOOD life into otherwise-destined-to-be-torn-out cabinets. Somehow, once the cabinets were white with bronzed bin pulls, I actually even liked the chocolate brown formica from the 70's. Go figure.

27 years ago I moved in to a tract house with builder grade dark oak cabinets. About 14 years ago I couldn't stand them anymore, but did not have the $$ to remodel (until now!) so I set about painting them...sand, good primer, and 2 coats of Pratt and Lambert oil-based paint--semi gloss. I think you can only buy quarts of oil-based now, but well worth it. They have held up well, especially the uppers. You can see a bit of grain sometimes depending on the light, etc..but that never bothered me. Base cabinets have some dings and wear and tear after 14 years. Am finally getting a new kitchen now that the 3 kids are out of college. Will be ordering new cabinets next week. We did the master bath last year...it's wonderful to have new, fresh spaces!!! Good luck!

Paste filler (I used Behlen's Pore-o-pac on my oak cabinet finishing) works on unfinished wood.
The brushing putty is formulated to work on any surface, even over paint. It's ground much finer than the pore fillers, which are for bare wood.
Casey

Here's my 2cents. I painted my oak cabinets white. Sorry dodge59 if that offends you. With the white I did not want the grain to show, because usually with painted cabinets you do not see the grain. If I had gone with plan B, which was to paint or gel stain them dark I would have let the grain show, because I do like that. In fact, my bathroom vanities are now gel stained and the grain shows. They look like new cabinets. (you can find gel staining instructions by googling "celticmoon gel stain".

I also used Pore-o-pac. Brushable wood filler. Primed with a good oil based primer. Painted with BM Satin Impervo. Lots of prep, take your time and you can get a great finish. This topic has been discussed a lot on the paint forum as well, that's where my tips came from for my successful project.

I knew white was the right direction when the cabinets had their coat of primer applied.

Good luck.

To the OP, I would HIGHLY recommend you look at Bee's before and after - they are AWESOME! You should be able to google search to find it.

To second what others have said - there are some really bad paint jobs, and some great ones. The great one's require proper prep, the right (best) products and technique, and patience. I would NEVER attempt to paint a cabinet without doing it the right way.

I painted a decent oak BR vanity that was starting to look a little lifeless and drab and I know that it will hold up for many years because I took the appropriate steps. Like Bee, I cleaned well (I used TSP), lightly sanded the gloss finish, primed with Zinzzer 123 (love that stuff), and painted with SW Pro-Classic (similar to Bee's Impervo). I applied two coats of paint, sanding between each.

Grain does not bother me, so I didn't attempt to hide the grain, but that is just a matter of personal choice. At least you can tell it is real wood.

If you are unhappy with your cabinets and are willing to put the effort and time into this, you CAN do this.

Tuesday

"I had thought I decided to add hardware and wait until after the floors are finished, new ss appliances are in, new counter top is installed and hope that I wouldn't even care anymore about the cabinets but then today I started seeing some beautiful white cabinets."

FutureMrsR, I think your heart is speaking pretty plainly here. From all the other posters, it sounds like there is significant work involved but that good results are possible.

The problem I have with your plan is that let's say you put in new hardware, floors, appliances and countertops, but in the end, you still want painted cabinets. You have just made your job harder.

You've got to sand and use lots of TSP and other chemicals on the cabinets and not get any of it on your brand new floor. You also would have a MUCH easier time prepping and painting those cabinets if your counters were off.

Also, you've got to unscrew all that new hardware off the doors. Better to fill all those new holes in the doors and reattach the hardware in another spot after the prep and painting is done.

Sorry to play devil's advocate.

I painted over oak vanity cabinets and took my time. Sanded, primed, sanded, primed, sanded, painted, sanded, painted, then glazed. Then I didn't like the glaze, so I painted again. After all that, the grain wouldn't dare show through. It was just one double vanity, so I can't imagine a whole kitchen, but it is possible. I was very happy with the results.

"A friend told me to use XIM primer and there would be no need to sand, use wood filler, etc and the grain will not show through! "

So a friend with no experience or knowledge told you something and this made you form an opinion about whether you should or should not paint?

Look there are scores of threads on painting cabinets here and scores of methods discussed on the web. From the methodical proper methods to the less meticulous mediocre results to the downright shoddy.

If you want to get rid of the grain you need a brushing putty. Xim isn't going to do a thing for grain, nor does it claim to.

Here is the short list of steps if you want a top quality grainless result.
- thorough cleaning with tsp
- meticulous sanding.
- doors must be off and laid flat for all prime/painting
- prime with brushing putty
- sand with very fine sanding paper
- prime with adherent primer
- paint two coats with top quality OIL based paint made for cabinets

Do any of you who painted their honey oak cabinets have honey oak floors, doors and trim? And if so, did you leave them as is?