Just recently I participated in a thread about a lovely kitchen by pirula, and she used F&B paint for her kitchen (walls, trim, bookcase) and Fine Paints of Europe for the cabinets. She wrote that the F&B cleans up great but that she's really impressed with the FPE on the cabinets. I know that doesn't directly answer your question but maybe you could find a FPE color similar to your F&B?

For our kitchen we're having lacquered cabs (sprayed) because of resilience, but in our den I had the cabs hand painted because I didn't want them to look like kitchen cabs (and I feared a sprayed finish would make them look like that). I have to say, I love the way the den cabs look and I am so glad I trusted my gut! So I totally understand what you're saying about not liking the sprayed look. Gotcha.

Good luck!

Thanks for the nice words rmkitchen!

She's right that the FPE is amazing paint. They can pretty much match anything, and if your trim is White Tie you can use what I used, it's almost identical.

Anyway, I think the F&B eggshell would hold up well on your cabinets. I've never used their oil, but I'm sure it's fabulous and would also work wonderfully.

I didn't want the sprayed on look either. I painted them myself. I love them.

Ivette

What do you mean by "sprayed look?" I would think a spray would give the most even, professional look. With hand painted, isn't there a greater chance of seeing the brush strokes? I understand if that's the look you're after, but is that what you mean?

I had a few painters paint my cabinets and had several sample doors. Lacquer, Pre-Catalyzed Lacquer, and catalyzed lacquer and my painted by hand version. Oh, my goodness, under the circumstances, I ended up with my version. The pre-catalyzed door was second best. I could not tell you anything about the pro's paint other than I was not buying another hvlp sprayer. I did mine by hand. I wrote a bit about the paint and how I did it on the thread below. I will say this, I love my version. I'm slow, but you cannot tell that they were painted by hand. The secret is in the prep and sanding between coats with the correct grade of paper. I used RichardÂs Signature Series Interior Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel. It has a beautiful, hard finish and I love it. I hope to be finished with my kitchen soon.

As for the sprayed doors by small custom shop: the paint made the doors look like they had been dipped in plastic. I thought, why not just go buy Thermofoil doors if they had that look. I preferred my method. I see no paint brush marks at all. You'd think I had these doors professionally done they are so pretty and smooth. I'm giving my doors an aged look, but they are still awesome to touch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted Cabinets thread answer

I recently had my old kitchen cabinets freshly painted, going from white to pale seafoam. My painter insisted on spraying them and I agreed, due to the small louvers across all the doors. They came out great and are very smooth looking. But if you are picturing factory-painted doors, like those you custom order, mine do not look at all like those. I agree the factory painting can look plasticky. Mine look hand painted without the brush strokes, if that makes sense. HTH

If you check out New Yankee Workshop, they are doing a series on kitchen cabinets. I was previewing the series by watching snippets of videos on the website. One deals with cabinet finishes. The pro shop does the pro shop thing and then hand paints the finish to give it a less plastic look. Best of both worlds?

If you use Oil Base, it will not likely matter whether you use a brush or spray or roller, the paint will be less likely to reveal the method of application.

I'm planning to have the small amount of fixed cabinetry in my unfitted kitchen hand-painted. Even if I have to do it myself. My contractor is good that way, he doesn't insist I "have" to do things. Though apparently it's a bit of an ordeal to get some companies to sell just primed cabinets.

I dislike the sprayed-on, plasticky factory finish too. And I don't like the limited "designer" colors one is offered. I like the option of repainting when I feel like it.

I don't think you even need oil paint. Oil paint, and the stuff you need to clean it up, is very toxic. Some states are banning it. Latex is really all you need.

When I moved into my house, it had really ugly beige formica cabinets in the kitchen that depressed me. I rolled 2 fast coats of an F&B green with an eggshell finish, left over from the bathroom, over them, inside and out. Didn't even wash the 25 years of cooking grease off. I can't remember if I primed or not. That was almost 4 years ago, and they still look great. Just a few little scratches on the shelf surfaces where cans get dragged back and forth every day.

A good paint will smooth itself out, so you don't get unpleasantly amateurish brush or roller strokes. You just get a "living" looking surface, as opposed to a dead one. My house evolves, day by day, it's not a time capsule.

Just my opinion, and my plan. You know how you like your own stuff.