The best outcome I every had painting cabinets was when I used B-I-N primer (it dries very flat and is the best binding primer, but it has become expensive.) Then I sprayed with Keylon spray paint which went a long way per can. Glass like smoothness.
That's the doors. The inside had to be hand painted. For the outward facing trim around the door I used a tiny, low- nap roller.
Yes, It is best to sand down to wood, but good luck with that.
I have some cabinet projects coming up again and I bought the kit by Rustoleum for cabinets to try.
I did one piece of furniture once which I wanted to be a rich deep brown stain look. I sprayed it with brown paint from a can, then wiped it with a minwax stain and coating.
Off the subject but interesting to me, since I am always looking for new ways to do furniture is that Ben Moore has a new primer that you can paint on and then apply stain to. In other words patch all the damage, prime it, then stain it.

This post was edited by bugbite on Sat, May 3, 14 at 17:52

Let the painter do his, her job.

Thanks bugbite.

christophern, around here, everyone calls him/herself a painter. There is no qualification to become a painter and I have seen some terrible paint jobs that people paid for.

myrtle_59, You are 100% right. Burns me up when I have to stay one step ahead of different "craftsmen". Seems like many have one objective speed, not quality.
Many times that is why I do it myself. I want quality, they want fast completion. I could give you a list of the sneaky things I have seen done recently to short cut and get by.
So, know the project, research it of the internet, watch videos and stay on top of the crafts men. Christophern, no offense intended. In your house do it just the way you stated.

Find one who is licensed, insured ,and will supply references

Find one who is licensed, insured ,and will supply references

Since you're hiring a painter, I would imagine that referrals and/or seeing his work would go a long way. Then let him decide the finish schedule.

There are lots of ways to do it right. And, lots of ways to do it wrong.

tbo123, I agree and that is what I will try to do. I do try to become a little knowledgable whenever I go into something new. I helps me pick the right one form the job.

I see no one's really answered your question..:)

The boxes stay on the walls. Everything is cleaned and sanded. The doors and drawers (and hardware) are removed and sprayed. Boxes are hand painted or sprayed.

The best finish you would get would be conversion varnish.
Then, maybe a pre or post cat lacquer.
Then, some sort of waterborne finish. (i.e.: paint or poly or both).(or, WB lacquer)

Painters usually paint with paint.

Good paints (so they say) are Ben Moore Impervo or Advance. Or, Sherwin Will ProClassic.

An oil paint in white will yellow.

You know it's funny. I don't have a license to paint because it's not required in my state. I also do not have any references because I certainly do not want potential customers calling my previous customers and bothering them. I'm the best painter around. If you are looking for great painters, please try and find a friend that has used a painter and was happy. If you don't have any friends that have used painters then go into a real paint store and get some names. They will give you names of painters that have been around a while and pay their paint store bills. These are 2 good signs.

Whether the cabinets should be stripped or removed and sprayed will depend on many factors. If the paint is in good condition, it may be okay to just paint over it. If there are brush marks on the cabinets that you want removed, then sanding down to raw wood may be a good idea, but this will be expensive. Two coats of high quality washable paint is standard, but painting over a green color may take a third coat.

Thank you tbo and paint guy! This is very helpful.

Why not Inslx (now BM's) Cabinet Coat? It's made for cabinetry and trim?

I learned about its wonders here and have never looked back when using a light color. And now, I've painted so many cabinets with gorgeous results (really, thanks to this forum) that I could call myself at least an experienced cabinet painter! :)