Here is how I would expect a pro to spray paint kitchen cabinets. A brush painted job would differ slightly in that you wouldn't hang the doors to paint. You'd place them on a work table or easel instead. It's time intensive work, and should take 7-14 days to accomplish completely and cost between 3K-7K depending on kitchen size and amount of detail in cabinets.

Remove doors and drawer fronts.
Remove hinges and hardware.
Clean with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate)
Rinse and let dry.
Scrape any loose finish.
Fill any damaged spots or hardware holes that won't be reused.
Sand fill smooth.
Scuff sand the rest.
Tack off dust.
Hang in dust free paint booth with wires through hardware points.
Tack off dust again.
Spray with alkyd based primer.
Scuff sand again.
Tack off dust.
Spray with second coat of primer.
Spray with first finish coat of latex enamel.
Spray with second coat of latex.
If glazing is to occur, that is next.
Spray with conversion varnish.
(If being brush painted, this step is typically skipped.)

Add more molding or decorative details to boxes, filling nail holes and sanding smooth.

Repeat prep process with face frames and exposed cabinet sides using plastic to create a spray booth on site. If interiors are to be done, they are done before face frames and sides. Interiors are difficult, and add both time and expense to the job.

Allow everything to fully cure.
Clean hinges and hardware and clear coat if you're keeping the old hardware.
Install new (or old) hinges and hardware.
Re-install doors and drawers and adjust for proper clearances.

If you are receiving a job without this amount of effort, then you are not receiving a quality professional job.

Thank you for that tremendous amount of detail. Follow up questions:

1. What is conversion varnish? Is it a protective layer? A hardening layer? A glossy layer? Can you say more about this?

2. Are there different desired sheens to cabinets when painting? Is it all a matter of aesthetics or are there practical reasons for different sheens?

3. Does the word "cure" refer to drying and hardening time? What is the desired period of time for cabinets to cure prior to reinstalling and using?

4. We have an old row house and are trying to make elements of the kitchen more in line with the 1800s look of the rest of the house. While we certainly are not going for period replication, we are trying to not have too modern or too sleek of a look. Given that, are there any other tips about the painting process that you recommend?

Different paints cure with different time periods. Given the fact that you want something more vintage looking, I'd go for the hand brushed application and no varnish on top. It's a little more labor intensive, but you get that less perfect plastic look that can happen when cabinets are sprayed.

Sheen is pretty much personal aesthetics. The glossier the cabinets are, the easier they will be to keep clean. The more matte they are, the more like a "hand rubbed" finish they appear. The meet in the middle finish is usually a satin or eggshell. It depends on the paint manufacturer as to the gloss level and label applied to it.

Once you find a good professional painter, he will most likely have a favorite cabinet paint from a favorite manufacturer that he's used to working with. It's usually best to stick with what he knows and knows that he can depend on for results. Have him do a sample door from a vanity or something so that you can see exactly what results you can expect. A quart of paint isn't a big investment. I'd expect to pay him for his materials and time for a sample, but it's better to write off $75 and move on to someone else if he doesn't provide you with the look that you need. A good professional will have interviewed you well and know what look you need and how to give it to you, so the sample should be the last "check" before awarding him the job.

Definately get more than a couple of bids on the job though, and make sure that each of them includes the proper prep work. That's what makes the job "professional" rather than someone with a spray gun hitting everything without any even washing the cabinets down.

Hollysprings, do you know someone in the Memphis or northwest MS area who would do a job such as greendesigns describes. I might like mine better if they were a different color with different hardware and different backsplash and countertops.