I was going to paint mine also but decided I didn't want to deal with the paint chipping. So I started practicing in my master bath. I'm using Minwax Gel stain in mahogany. It took me a while to get the hang of it. First I cover the whole door using a sponge brush. The can says wait 3 minutes. Usually by the time you covered a few doors it's time to go back to the first. Then I use a rag and wipe it all off. It leaves a thin coat on it. ( alot darker than regular oak). If you like it like it is then fine, if not wait at least a day to be sure. Give it a light sanding (very light) and then do the process again. This will darken it even more. Then give it a coat of polyurethane. Mine went from ugly builders oak to rich mohagany. I love it. Sorry no pictures yet. I highly recommend that you practice before you start on the kitchen. About the crevices, you can wipe it off (carefully) or leave it and it looks like the glaze on white cabinets. It actually looks nice IMO.

janesylvia, I agonized over this issue also - I feel your pain! lol. I'm a homeowner, kitchen cabinets were oak with a kind of pinkish finish popular in the 90's I've been told? They were looking bad. I replaced the uppers with new cabinets (to extend to ceiling) but lowers, I painted and they look great! Then I took the old uppers and put in the laundry room...painted same white as in kitchen and they also look great. I did try the rollers, various types, but all left exactly what you mentioned, a line. Some very slight bubbling too. Spraying was above my skill set. Instead I used a good brush (Purdy's, my fav!) Gosh, with oak, the grain is gorgeous coming through and *in my opinion* the brush application is a nice compliment to the entire look. I don't notice any brush strokes although I'm sure they're there, just not readily visible with the oak graining. I painted the cabinets white. I heard all kinds of nays on doing that, painting them myself,the color, yada yada yada, but I love the finished look. It is not a smooth finish, like glass or something, it has some character. It might not be a look for everyone but for me and everyone that sees it, it's a winner. I washed the cabinets real good, let dry real good, lightly sanded, did a tack cloth several times over to get any lint, sawdust off and then took the plunge. I used a newer product (newer at the time, which was within this past year) which was an all-in-one paint available at HD. "Behr Premium Plus Stain Blocking Paint and Primer in One." Had it tinted to the white color I selected. I went with semi-gloss finish but I think that's a personal choice, to each their own on the sheen level. I don't find these cabinets to be overly shiny. Honestly, just figured might as well try painting them myself. Luckily it worked well for me..I did of course try one small door panel first to be certain this was a go. Also one last piece of advice: allow them to dry FOREVER before using and definitely wait on adding hardware, like handles or pulls until the paint is dried/cured/whatever the professional term is for that! This was my experience and it turned out well. I hope the same for your project if you decide to tackle it. Best wishes!

Kenzie you have the perfect kitchen for hand-painting kitchen cabinets. You are going to be amazed at the improvement if you follow Christopher's directions. Just don't skip any steps and take your time :). You will see a little grain since your cabinets are oak, but that helps eliminate the look of brush marks also. I am one of those people who don't mind seeing the grain of oak - at least they look like real wood. I have one question for Christoper: How does the BM Impervo and Advance compare to SW Pro-Classic as far as ease of applying?? My reason for asking is that I have used the Pro-Classic on a vanity and was very impressed with the quality of the finished product - just would like to know for future projects.

We won't have THAT many cabinets...the price blew me away. We will have a big island and there is a small desk area with bookcases that were included, and we live in the SF bay area which tends to have high prices, but still... Our kitchen will be gutted at the time of the painting. Though the painting will take a couple of weeks which will increase our time without a kitchen. Unfortunately, I love the cabinets that our cabinet place makes, I'm just not fond of their painted finishes. They have kind of a plastic look to me. So, now there's no turning back because the cabinets have been ordered so I'm stuck with having them painted. I'm hoping the other bids will come in lower. My husband has taken to calling this painter "Picasso" because that's the quality he'd expect for that price! Are there any issues with going sprayed? Thanks again for your help with this!