When I've painted cabinets, I used an HVLP sprayer and primed several light coats with sanding, then several finish coats. I used SW products.

Paints have come a long way in the past 25 years or so; there are several types (and rollers/brushes), that make getting a very smooth finish a lot easier than it used to be.

I've also seen a kitchen painted white by an auto-body shop; it was near perfection.

I haven't seen maple used as a paint substrate, but it should work.

We painted our new IKEA doors with BM Advance in Satin. Our lowers are yellow and for our uppers we used Marscapone, which I think is a nice creamy white. The doors we were painting were birch with a white-wash type of finish. We brought one of the doors to our local paint store and they recommended the BM Fresh Start Primer. (They did not recommend the Advance Primer. Since then, I've seen several reviews about how terrible that primer is.)

We scuffed, primed, and did two coats of paint, sanding lightly between each coat. We brushed everything except the end cover panels. I rolled those. In retrospect, I wish we had done three coats and maybe even four on the cream uppers. The coverage with the lighter color doesn't seem as good.

I think the two biggest downsides to BM Advance are the long dry time (16 hours between coats) and the long cure time. They say up to 30 days but ours was more like 60-90. The upside is that, once they cure, they are really durable. We're coming up on two years since we painted them and have not babied them. I've been known to take a scrubby sponge to them when removing difficult splatters and the finish is still fine.

The other problem, which you may not have, was the learning curve. I'd never used self leveling paint before. It took me a while to stop poking at it and let the paint do its job. Also it is super drippy so three thinner coats would have been smarter.

I painted unfinished and previously painted cabinets, using Kilz oil primer and Lowe's latex Kitchen and Bath paint, which has been discontinued. I followed the same steps as Heather and Kristen, using a paint brush. We'd had some slab closet doors sprayed a few years before, and I thought they looked too plasticky. I'd later used a roller on some other slab doors, which produced a finish I liked better, but for the kitchen I wanted a hand-painted finish.

My favorite white is Adobe White, which looks white against other colors, but against true white it looks very creamy--think Jersey cream. I've used it on cabinets, walls, and trim, and had it mixed (Lowe's) at 200% tint for a wood bedroom floor.

Thank you everyone for your input! Its nice to hear from people who have done it and are happy instead of just being told "You'll never get an adequate finish if you DIY".

kristensgc - Thanks for the information! Did you have them installed during that additional curing time? And thanks for the tip about the learning curve! I've never used self leveling paint either. I do plan to practice on the sample doors and cabinet we have so hopefully I have a feel for it by then!

Thank you Heatheron40! Its nice to hear from others who are happy painting their RTAs. I am worried the doors are so smooth paint won't adhere! Thanks for the tip about the Bin Shellac, that might be the way to go.

Thanks mama goose! I will have a look at the Adobe White the next time I'm in Lowe's.

Maybe I will take the sample door over to BM and see what they say and check back in a few days! Thanks for your help.

Definitely practice. I wish I had. And poking at the paint too much can make the sheen uneven.

I've tried to figure out what caused the longer cure time. My best guess is it was weather/humidity related since our doors/drawers were curing in an uninsulated garage during an LA "winter." If they were curing in a temperature controlled environment, I might have had results more consistent with what BM lists.

Due to delays, I think we ended up putting the doors in about a month, maybe even 6 weeks, after they were painted. It was during the install that I dinged the finish on two of the drawer fronts. Which, after all the hard work and delays and stress, just wrecked me. But that initial damage is all we have.

And you're welcome! Good luck!

re the self levelling paint issue ...I've used it and wasn't really impressed...thought it made more work actually...as you have the quick, gingerly applied initial application to do it and then you move on...... The best brush money can buy and superior paint, time, and experience can't be beat. A cabinet door with edges/grooves/returns should take to handpainting .... brush strokes as needed..... the feel between the surface, the bristles ,and action of your wrist along with proper size of brush will tell you when you get the strokes and appropriate lay of the paint . Kitchen cabinet painting isn't for beginners but is not rocket science either. I think repurposing older cabinets with a DIY paint job is fine...in some sense brand new cabinets might be best for a pro or at the shop with the proper setup and established and tested techniques.

megd23: Any updates on your painted cabinets, maybe some pictures? Are you happy you upgraded the cabinets doors to all maple (instead of the alder/mdf). I am planning on ordering Barker Cabinets soon.