How do you figure that Cabinet Coat paint _should_ look like wood? Maybe you're thinking of a faux bois (wood-graining) effect, but that's not done with a ordinary enamel paint. It is a rather more involved three or four-step process.
Casey

Cabinet Coat only comes in white and pastels.

Try the MinWax "polyshades". They are a combination of tinted varnish and wood stain, meant for exactly what you are trying to do.

Cherry is a smooth grained wood, oak is not. Painted oak looks like...painted oak. There is a product you can use to fill in the graining, but the name escapes me (a good paint store would know what it is). That will get you a smooth cherry/maple like finish, but it will be painted, not stained. As someone else wrote, Cabinet Coat comes in near-whites only. You could find a paint color like a merlot that is similar in shade to a dark stained cherry, if that is the look you are going for.

I too wanted to do a cherry finish by just painting. I saw it done on one of the "do it yourself" shows although I can't remember witch one. I've searched the internet and this is the closest I've come to what I saw on the show. It was done on bathroom cabinets but it should work for kitchen cabinets. The web site is www.associatedcontent.com/article/âÂÂ2682485/how_to_create... Good Luck!!!

I was going to paint my cabinets too, but then I came across this thread:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1021240521611.html
Scroll down to the post from Celticmoon. I used General Finshes gel stain in java, but they also have a cherry gel stain:
http://www.generalfinishes.com/retail-products/oil-base-wood-stains-sealers/oilbase-gel-stains
I followed celticmoon's directions - they are very good. This will only work if you are going from a lighter stain to a darker stain (I am assuming your cabinets are currently stained)
Liz

Oops, sorry didn't realize this was such an old thread...

Thanks for posting the link, raspycat. It is good information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Celticmoon's instructions for cabinet staining