Haven't done what you're trying to do, but in this situation I would start by sanding the surface, and apply 1-2 coats primer. Putting down a primer coat will smooth out the differences in the underlying surface and give a consistent base for the top coat. Pretty much any cabinets/shelves will be coated with an oil based finish (this is the term we use in Aust), so you need to use an oil based finish and not a water based finish (oil finish needs mineral turpentine for cleanup, water based finish needs water).

Agree. Several years ago we had a similar situation. Stained oak cabinets. We hired a painter who rough sanded them, then spray primed with an oil based primer, then spray painted (2 coats) with a white oil based paint. Turned out fantastic. The grain in the oak did not show after the paint. We sold the house a few years later and it still looked great.

Prep is obviously going to make or break the job. You'll need to sand and degloss both the wood and the laminate, prime (possibly 2 thin coats) and 2 or 3 top coats. Benjamin Moore Advance is what the pros are using these days. Awesome paint - self leveling and water cleanup.

I did my bathroom and this is basically what I did. Take off doors, sand (hand and palm sander), then primer two coats and lightly sand between each coat. I used a high quality paint (gray with a semi gloss) and I applied one coat by hand with a good brush, let it dry then lightly sanded the applied the final coat with a roller. I did four bathroom cabinets and my conclusion is I I would never do the kitchen and even reluctant to do the other bathroom.

Very time consuming to do it right. I would buy new cabinets since the ones I have now are builder grade and really not worth painting.

Pain in the ass. I'm having it done now, but paid somebody to do it in white.

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

Rip them out and replace them. Then put granite, or some other solid surface, counters on top.

Women buy houses, women like kitchens... Women hate ugly kitchens.

You'll get your money back plus more with a good kitchen upgrade.

Agree with the posts. I've done it and you have to make sure all the gloss is off the laminate. I applied 2 primer coats and then the finish coat. If you're changing colors, add a little tint to the primer (the same tint as the finish coat) so you only need one finish coat.

Make sure you take all the hardware off the doors and that all the surface areas are sanded and primed and that you leave at least a full day (24 hours) for the primer to dry between coats.

We used a brush n roller on oak cabinets, it was a painful painful job. They did look good even though you could see the grain after.

Removing all of the doors and using a spray on them and foam roller on the faces and gables would be my suggestion using a tough semi-gloss alkyd enamel paint would be my suggestion.

Did this last year. I have oak cabinets and the grain will show through unless you use a filler, but for me, having some grain shows that these are "real wood" cabinets not some cheap crap. They are pretty decent cabinets but the oak was just too out of style. Using a filler would make the job much longer and harder and is really not necessary.

I pulled all the doors and drawers and cleaned with TSP and sanded. The first sanding should be pretty fairly strong to get all the gloss off, which can be challenging if you have a lot of edging and contours. It will take time and it will make a lot of mess. I put on 2 coats of primer, sanding in between, then 2 coats of color, again with a light sand in between. I used a lacquer so it dried very fast and I sprayed with a good quality HVLP sprayer. After putting on the color coat I decided it was too bright white so I did it over again with a darker white shade, so 2 more coats. Then I did a good 2 coats of clear coat on top of that. Again you should do a light sand between each coat although on the last topcoat I just went back over it while it was not 100% dry so it would still stick but not run (running was the biggest issue...have to be careful not to go too thick on each coat or you make more work for yourself sanding).

I also painted the hinges and handles using self-etching primer, an automotive silver color coat, and a clear coat. So far it has held up well but time will tell...it was much cheaper than replacing all the hardware and the gold plating had to go one way or another.

It's a big job. My wife and kids were overseas for a month and I worked at it daily and weekends and barely had it done when they returned. With all the masking and all the mess it makes, there is really no way I could do it while the kids are home. I need to do the bathrooms as well but it will be hard with the family around...it's been waiting a year for me to get to it. The masking is a good third of the job. I decided not to paint the interiors of the cabinets but just inside the frames, and I think it was a good choice based on how it turned out.

You really need to make sure you get quality paint and top-coat (along with the right primer) from a pro paint store. Cabinets get a lot of abuse and if you don't do a quality job you will have paint coming off or not taking a scrubbing and it will look horrible in a couple years. There are commercial places that do this work but they don't use the procedure I described and it will not hold up the same.

I did this to wood cabinets several years ago. I used Kilz but I am sure there are many products you can choose from today. I moved everything to my basement and set up a fan to blow fur/fuzz... away from whatever I was working on. The finished result was terrific. I went from an old mahogany looking kitchen to a really bright and modern color. It made a big difference when I sold the home.

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."