part of it depends on how hot the water is- I've used regular house paint on my baseboard covers, but went with heat-tolerant spray paint for the radiators upstairs- better safe than sorry, eh? a wire brush will take flakes off- a small, fine-gauge one on a drill will get into the details. there are also brush-on solutions that will 'stop' the rust (convert it chemically into something stable) that can be painted over- this is a good solution if you're not working with an ornate victorian antique (and honestly, sometimes the ornate ones look better, well, less ornate- and it will dampen any detailing in the castings)

Hi jboling, Thanks for your thoughts! It's helpful to get some other opinions since my husband and I are on different sides on this one! The original plan was a built-in, but because of the cherry wood (not stain) on this he suddenly switched to "make an alcove", not a built-in. I generally agree with him that true cherry, walnut, maple, etc. shouldn't be painted if it's in good shape. But I'm looking for nice lines, specific measurements, and inexpensive...... in this case I can probably live with it placed in an untrimmed alcove IF the flooring can be easily solved. The cabinet has 4-5 inch legs, so the flooring would show if it is not done as a built-in. The dining room is small--roughly 9' x 9.5', and our family is large, which is why we've avoided placing furniture other than spare chairs along the walls. We did verify the void behind this wall when the opposite side (back side?) was opened for our kitchen remodel. This is the last step in that project. The kitchen itself was finished in November 2012. In 2015 we did the second stage of the project, which was to enclose an existing back porch as a mudroom, and poured a new concrete porch and stairs. The stairs now access both the backyard and the driveway, whereas before they only went to the back. A venting chimney is what creates the void along the rest of that wall. It was too expensive to remove/rerun vents elsewhere. The void is 42" long, but I don't want the hutch, built in or not, to abutt the adjacent wall, hence the 36 inch max width, which would allow wallboard and trim dimensions to match other near-corner openings in the room.

Wow-you have some work ahead of you! I would definitely approach this in sections...one project would be built ins, one project just doors, next project trim etc so everything looks good in between projects. With summer approaching, who wants to be indoors painting every weekend. The shiny surfaces definitely need scuff sanded, thoroughly cleaned and rinsed with TSP, vacuumed and re-vacuumed and tack clothed. Doors and hinges need to be removed on the built ins. Your prep will take as much time as the fun painting part. Get a nice set up for painting the cabinet doors. Each side will need primed and 2 coats with a few hour dry time in between. The passageway doors can be done while hung. My favorite primer is STIX Bonding Primer. This stuff really sticks to everything. It has a 3 hour dry time. It is available at my BM store. As far as paint, I like BM Cabinet Coat or Advance. Hope you get some pros to chime in. Cleo (not a pro)

Molding. Post a photo?