You need to prime first before painting. Benjamin Moore Advance is a popular one for cabinets. Maybe try a test first on the inside of one cabinet.

I recently saw this blog post which sounds too good to be true. I've never tried using milk paint and can't comment on how easy or difficult it is. Perhaps others can add their experience with the process.

https://www.designertrapped.com/how-to-paint-kitchen-cabinets/

Start by taking off all the doors and sanding the old finish. Then prime with a shellac based primer. Then a good quality topcoat like Cabinet Coat. Two coats, preferably sprayed. No secret. No shortcuts. Just s lot of hard work.

"Start by taking off all the doors and sanding the old finish"

Then cleaning and sand some more, then clean again and sand some more. Time consuming at the very least. Honestly it is all about the prep. The best top coat made and the absolute best brush painter in the world and if the prep work is lacking the finish is crap.

Hold off six months and go look at your friends painted cabinets in person.

I used to tell people the potential problems of painting over stained cabinets, but then many posted that they had their cabinets painted and loved the result. I thought, well, people should do what they want:)

However, last weekend I went to an open house in my neighborhood of a home that looked in the pictures on Zillow like a new kitchen - white doors, long stainless pulls - very up to date looking. When I saw the kitchen in person, I realized the cabinets were older cabinets that had been painted, and up close, both the paint and the pulls were showing wear. I was surprised because this house was owned by a single older woman - not someone who would be hard on the cabinets. It was not so much that the cabinets looked horrible, just disappointing, and it was a professional job.

I have both stained and painted cabinets in my home. The painted do not get much abuse and I like them where they are - in my laundry room and in my powder room, but I am glad the kitchen cabinets are stained.

Stained cabinets can be nicely updated with new counters, backsplash and I put in a farm sink - The Kohler Whitehaven or Vault both have "short apron" styles that can be installed on a standard sink base cabinet if you like that style.

Charleston Light Kitchen Cabinets Home Design · More Info

33 years ago, we painted our wood kitchen cabinets. We did NOT remove the doors - did not want to mess with the screw holes where the hinges were - afraid they might get larger and not hang right. We wiped them down with one of those cleaners the paint store has for cleaning woodwork before painting.

Then we painted them using an oil-base gloss paint. We had removed (and we replaced) the hardware. That paint lasted until we tired of the color 19 year later!. We painted again - same paint, different color - and it lasted 13 years until I replaced all my kitchen cabinets. The hardware still looked fine as I used solid brass hardware. Sold it for scape.

We did not paint the interiors of the cabinets - just the doors (I don't think we painted the inside of the doors), the frame fronts, and the finished sides at the end of cabinet run. Nothing ever chipped or rubbed - looked fantastic till they were removed.

Tons of info. online if you do a search. Make sure they're cleaned very well. I'd use an oil based primer - I'd use Zinsser BIN. I also like Zinsser's 123 primer (that one is water based). A lot of people like Kilz. Use some 220 grit sand paper to lightly go over the primer after it's dry. Clean off with tack cloth very well. I'd use two coats of Cabinet Coat (self levels beautifully and you can have it tinted). It's also water based. Just make sure you read up and read all info. on the cans for wait time, recommended temp. and humidity levels, cure time, etc. Use good quality brushes and rollers! My second choice paint would be one from Benjamin Moore.

I like your cabinets as they are.

I'm in the middle of this process now. Honey oak cabinets - 23 doors, 11 drawers. Here are my steps so far:

Labeled all the doors to match the bases, under where the hinges go, then covered with a small piece of blue painters tape so the labels wouldn't get painted.

Took all the doors and drawers off, washed everything down with a TSP substitute... cabinets over the range were disgusting, even though I cleaned regularly.

Sanded all the varnish off both sides of the doors, using a combination of orbital sander, hand sander, and sanding pads, 180 grit. Doors have an exterior and an interior ogee curve... Blew off all the dust, then tack-clothed into every crevice.

Primed the with Zinsser BIN. First time I primed it was a hot day (did it in my garage with door open, lined up folding tables and placed doors flat on hard plastic cups from the dollar store, worked great) but the heat dried out the primer so fast it went on super thick.

Sanded it allll down, ending up burning through in a lot of places and needing to re-prime everything again (after tack-clothing everything, again) Ugh. The good thing though, was that the extra thick primer covered the oak grain really well!

Sanded everything 220 grit, again, and tack-clothed, again.

First coat of BM Chantilly Lace Advance top coat in satin finish went on today the backs of the doors today. The top coat goes on faster and easier, at least. Tomorrow I'll do the front of the doors.

Sunday I'll sand with 320 grit (all hand sanding now) and maybe get a 2nd coat on one side....

Drawers and boxes are sanded, primed and sanded again.

It is a LOT of work. Looks REALLY good so far though - even my contractor was impressed!

Your kitchen looks great! Honest. I wouldn't touch them. Nope. No way.

I love my husband, but... painting cabinets together would not benefit our relationship one bit. My mother said the closest she ever came to divorcing my dad was over a 1981 wallpaper hanging experience. I suspect cabinet painting is the same.

If you absolutely hate your cabinets, you can't go on any longer without white cabinets, you have no children, no pets, no yard work, nor a demanding job, I'd say... maybe paint them. Maybe.

@Liannne, oh please post pics of before and after! I appreciate your can-do spirit and willingness to share.

I like this thread for both the realism and at the same time, the optimism.

OP, let us know your decision.

We also have a U-shaped kitchen with builder grade honey oak cabinets. I HATE oak grain. We (aka my husband) just painted them white. My husband did an awesome job. They look great..... but it was a lot of work and it took 3 weeks. We both have full-time jobs and two small children. It would have taken way less time without kids, but it's still very time consuming. First he took all the doors and hardware off. We cleaned everything with TSP, then sanded the doors and cabinet faces. Then my husband used wood filler to fill in the wood grain. Sanded some more, used more wood filler. Primed, sanded some more, primed again. Painted, lightly sanded, painted again, lightly sanded, painted a 3rd and final coat. Used tack cloth to wipe everything down after each sanding. I'll look when I get home to see what primer and paint he used. But they really look awesome. If we had the money, I would have totally hired it out though. It was soooooo time consuming.

Scroll down in this thread and I posted my own experience here.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-with-kitchen-cabinets-dsvw-vd~4773598

your cabinets are about the most workable in terms of creating your personalized changes for the kitchen ... new floor...backsplash...amend the pony wall and get a one level bar....statement hardware...window treatment...really scratching my head why you would put energy and time into changing them.

My husband used Kelly Moore Kel-Bond Acrylic Adhesion Promoting Primer and Kelly Moore Dura Poxy Semi-Gloss Enamel paint in Swiss Coffee color (bright white).

knickema, any pics?

I agree with Cooks Kitchen and millworkman. No shortcuts, prep work is tedious and time consuming but it is absolutely the most critical part of the paint job. Also, buy good paint and primer. Don't skimp. Good quality brushes and foam roller too if you don't spray them. I did my bath cabinets with Zinsser primer (shellac based) and Cabinet Coat paint, using Purdy brushes and foam rollers. Light sanding between coats. It came out great, but was a lot of work, a kitchen will be all the more so. But, if you take your time and do it right, you should be happy with the results.

As a follow-up to kas4 on General Finishes milk paint, see this thread on gardenweb with pictures:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3485219/cabinet-paint-rave?n=14

If you don't like the colors they sell, there's also a chart with various custom mixes on their web site.

I don't know what type of cabinets you have but mine look the same. I painted them white last year and am so happy. They clean well and look very nice. I didn't want the wood grain so I filled the grain before painting which was difficult. You can see a little grain at the right angle but they look great. If you are going to do this bs very careful with what filler you buy. Sanded lower grit to very fine grit. Zissner primer, used some others as well. Got pure white cabinet paint from Sherwin Williams goes 30 to 40 percent off every couple of months. Would recommend semigloss so it's easy to clean. It isn't too shiny. I haven't had to put a sealer coat on bc I used this. Spray painted cabinets with the 300 dollar spray machine. Two to three coats; I cant rememwber. Maybe you know someone or can rent. I think this is really why mine look so nice. Had to clean around the grooves with the foam brush after spraying. This Part was hard, I still have some tiny air bubbles in the grooves but very hard to notice.rleplaced cabinet pulls with Amazon choices. Took a long time but I am very happy.

A friend showed me a picture of her kitchen, she painted all the
cabinets white, it looks like she basically remodeled the whole kitchen
and she did it herself, but she didn't tell me what paint she used or
anything.

So ... ask her.

Definitely it's all about the preparation - cleaning, more cleaning, making sure you have a dust-free painting area.

Remember that the difference between what looks good two weeks after being painted, and two years after being painted, is all in the laborious prep work. Those who skip that, or use garbage products, will have an ''antiqued'' look, with chips, flaking, stains, and obvious wear. Often almost immediately.

So true. The prep work is tedious, time consuming and not fun! But it makes or breaks the final job.

A professional painter whose specialty is kitchen cabinets is painting the honey oak cabinets in my kitchen now. He cleaned the cabinet frame first (don't know what he used), then sanded, then primed twice, and is now applying the fourth coat of paint to the frame. He labeled all of the doors (24) and drawers (12) and took them to his shop for cleaning, priming, and painting. The insides of the cabinets are also being painted. They are looking gorgeous. Never realized how dark the galley kitchen was with the honey oak cabinets. Now it is bright. The primer he used was:

and the paint he is using is:

I highly recommend these products. After seeing the intense labor he is putting into doing a perfectionist job, I am so glad I finally decided to hire out that job. I am a perfectionist, too, and would never have been able to bring the cabinets to life the way he has. Tomorrow, he is bringing the doors and drawers in to put in place.

Oh, forgot to mention, that after each coat of paint dried, he sanded that before applying another coat of paint.

If you do this yourself, be very patient and don't rush the job. Waterborne acrylic paint is the only way to go in today's world for paining wood. Also, it is very easy to clean and maintain. Good luck.

I am so glad w were able to save the money to have this done. It took a while, but "patience" paid off. After seeing all of the work this guy is putting into it, I know that I personally would physically never have been able to do the job.

By the way, I think your kitchen is lovely as it is. You have lots of natural light to brighten up the area. We had no natural light to brighten the area. I am normally not a fan of painting wood, but in this case I am so glad it has been painted.

WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a, just wanted to comment on that primer. It may be fine for some surfaces, even most of them, but it does not compare to Zinsser B.I.N. Shellac-based primer. If the wood has knots, B.I.N. is the ONLY recommended primer, If there are nicotine stains on the walls, B.I.N. is what you need. It is really THE best primer out there. You don't need it for everything, but it will always do the job..