@Gina: The paint that was used the first time that there was a problem with was Sherwin Williams CAB acrylic lacquer. I believe this is a perfectly great product (the finish itself was beautiful where enough paint was applied) and I know a lot of people really like it, it's just the painter who did my cabinets did not understand how to work with it. I don't honestly know what the new cabinet paint is. All I know is that it is Benjamin Moore and waterborne or water-based, but I don't know what specific product. There are a lot of good discussions on this on the paint forum though. @rkb: I was about to come back and say that the overspray wasn't really bad at all (presuming they do a really good job taping off). I did tell them ahead of time that I'd be repainting the walls so I let them spray there and they said it was easier to go up on the ceiling (which is wood painted the same color in our case) and then come back and touch it up. BUT tonight I realized that our freestanding walnut-topped island, which was pushed way into the far corner of the room, beyond the plastic curtain, got a good dose of overspray. At first it looked like dust, but a piece of paper we had sitting on it left a nice little square of un-oversprayed area. It stinks but it's not a huge deal because we only oil our island, so hopefully it will come right off but if it doesn't I can give it a light sanding and re-oil pretty quickly.

3/8 step hinges? They pose an issue as the styles and colors are limited. Try Barker Cabinets you can easily make those drawers and doors full overlay which means you would only see the doors no frames. This would give a very clean modern look. If you like slab doors as you have they are very reasonably priced and might shock you that for under $1000 you have a brand new looking kitchen. If not I would sand not strip. Buy a nice random orbital sander and progressive grits from 180-220-400 and your ready for a nice fresh coat of General Finishes clear. By the way that Bar Keepers Friend contains oxalic acid which will also take the stain from the handle off and can also be used to bleach the wood back to new. If you like the tone they are now try repairing the areas that are damaged by sanding and applying amber shellac and then clear coat over what you have with a light sanding. General Finishes Enduro clear also has a slight amber tint to it like old non water based clears. I would not use a water based clear because it will not have the look you want on that species of wood. Good luck!

This thread is actually really old but I felt I should mention something different bc I did not see this as a possible solution for those who are trying to remedy the problem of sheen damage to their cabinet doors. Rubbing a dull sheen when cleaning can buff up the sheen making that area noticeably stand out with high sheen spot. Just as a door with a higher sheen can be rubbed with a more abrasive material or chemical this can have a lowering of the sheen effect. In either case a good approach to this would be first to ensure to prep the surface before applying any type of sheen corrector on it . !st Best way is to first use a damp cloth mild soap and water (Dawn is a safe brand to use) to remove sugary film or grease residue on surface. 2nd Once clean and dry you will want to lightly sand with a super fine grit 2000 sand paper the area so that the sheens both shiny and dull are fading into each other. This will make it easier to coceal when you touch up the area. 3rd Identify what kind of material is used on cabinets. It is important because if the product your cabinets are not catalyzed what ever you use can have an adverse reaction to ti. For instance am uncatalyzed poly or an oil enamel finish will not be able to be touched up with a clear lacquer spray , reaction could make the finish crinckle and lift. To ensure this does not occur it is best to test out a small area . Preferrably the back of a drawer front for a reaction prior to using a clear lacquer spray can. 4th Choose to spray the back of a door to get the hang of sheen blending by first lightly sanding with 2000 and then lightly spraying that area . Choose the appropriate sheen level by Using a easy to spray touch up spray can like deft or valspar Clear Lacquer Matt, Satin , Semigloss or gloss, spray a light coat starting from one end of the AFFECTED AREA TO THE OTHER. These spray coating are very light and thin making it easy to blend into finish. If you are not satisfied with the first pass . You may need to hit this area again , keep in mind of blending your mist coat so that it basically disappears into the original sheen. Practicing on the back of a door is important to do so you can have the confidence and experience to hit the faces of the doors to be corrected.

I would rather not get into technique or chemicals via email… There’s a lot to cover there! I would however not put lacquer over oil - it can cause it to wrinkle. Visit with Sherwin Williams about what you want to do and ask them about Vandyke brown glaze. That’s what we predominately use as it is an oil based product that is a mixture of a stain and a glaze all in one. As far as accenting knotty alder, it’s perfect. You will get a lot of the dark glaze in the cracks, crevices, knot holes, and corners, and you can control how much you leave on the flat field areas. And whatever you do, practice on something you can throw away or the backside of a door and follow each step precisely. TSP to remove oil’s, light scuff sand, vacuum or wipe down, glaze, clearcoat. In the picture below, these are both clear alder where the knot holes have been removed. The left one is stained only, the right one is stained and glazed. Notice how you see the dark in the cracks of course but you can also see it in the field area. The next picture is the backside of a door with stain only. The picture below it is the front side of the same door with the same stain with glaze added.