Clear with TSP substitute. Sand smooth, but no need to do it up to bare wood. Prime with oil based primer, shellac based primer, or Stix acrylic primer. Ideally spray paint with oil based, acrylic/urethane, or waterborne alkyd -- or at a minimum 100% acrylic. Use XIM extended with acrylic products.

My friend hired someone to come in and spray her cabinets white - in one year, they looked like crap. So I ended up doing them myself.

Sand, clean with mineral oil, 1-2 coats primer, 3-4 coats Benjamin Moore paint (specifically made for wood/metal). Used a brush with paint thinner to eliminate paint brush marks. Five years later, they look amazing. No one believes me when I tell them I did them.

I have done a few touch ups over the years, but VERY minor - and, hey, I have the paint so it matches perfectly.

Clean. Sand. Degloss. Sand. Prime (Zinsser makes a good one). 2 coats Benjamin Moore oil based paint. We didn't do a clear poly on top because our kitchen is quite sunny and the sun causes yellowing in poly over time. Good luck.

We have done it ourselves- pre kids. Now we just pay someone to do it because we don't have the dedicated time to plug away at it.

16:05 again. The other thing is to make sure you sand the original cabinets VERY well and get off the old finish. Otherwise your paint won't stick.

I have done this in a kitchen and bath. We used regular Sherwin Williams flat paint, but then put a coat of clear polyurethane on top. We used a Bona product for hardwood floors, although I imagine Minwax would work as well. Excellent results, no problems. I have since used this system to refinish dressers, and they're holding up great too.

Anonymous wrote:You need to get the right paint. Duron one-coat or other general interior paints are not going to hold up well because they will chip of the old finish.

Look for a gel-based stain that forms a thicker, more rubbery type coating that will adhere well to the old finish.

I know you were going to hire someone, but this blog has a good write up on an easy process for doing cabinets using "milk" paint (remove drawers/doors/hardware, clean, degloss, paint, and finish with a clear coat).

http://www.designertrapped.com/2014/06/paint-your-kitchen-cabinets.html

Thanks! I used milk paint once on a buffet and it was a total shit show disaster - peeled off like crazy. Annie Sloane Chalk Paint is another story, however - that stuff is amazing!

You need to get the right paint. Duron one-coat or other general interior paints are not going to hold up well because they will chip of the old finish.

Look for a gel-based stain that forms a thicker, more rubbery type coating that will adhere well to the old finish.

I know you were going to hire someone, but this blog has a good write up on an easy process for doing cabinets using "milk" paint (remove drawers/doors/hardware, clean, degloss, paint, and finish with a clear coat).

http://www.designertrapped.com/2014/06/paint-your-kitchen-cabinets.html

We did this ourselves in our old house 6 years ago. Basically, they need to be cleaned, sanded, cleaned again, and roughly 2 coats of oil based paint. Make sure it's oil.

All paint chip, especially in high traffic areas like the kitchen.

I am considering buying a house with very very nice wood cabinets. They are lovely and in great shape but it is just not my look.
I would like to hire a professional to come in and paint them white - but I have to think there are varying levels of professionalism in this regard. I don't want them to chip or scrape (as they did in my last house when I had a Joe Schmo-type painter use Duron One-Coat on my wood cabinets and they didn't wear well)

Has anyone successfully done this and been thrilled with the long term results?
Any recommendations in Montgomery County?
Any words of wisdom or caution?

Thanks, all!