If you don't want to prime, don't want to sand, and don't want to take the doors off, then just clean any dirt and grease off them and start painting. You can get away with it. Hang on to any leftover paint and if it chips off here and there, you can touch it up. I would want a higher sheen than eggshell, but it will work.

You might think them ugly, but those doors will stay perfect looking forever. A crappy paint job will not.

I'm with Errant. You think they're ugly now? You ain't seen ugly yet.

ha! point taken LOL

So, what then would the best way be?

I think my biggest issue is with the pink counter top, which my DH is going to replace with a wood counter. Maybe after that the doors won't be so unbearable?

I'd give them a quick sanding and then prime with ben moore stix, and then paint. As much as you don't want to do a lot of work, you probably less want to have to do it twice, which you will if you don't do the proper prep work. It will start looking really awful, really quickly if you don't do the prep work and you'll be sorry later that you didn't do it.

Just don't do what our PO did, and that is to paint right over the hinges, which began to chip almost immediately. It is worth taking the extra time just to not do that. It made it very obvious that it was a quicky paint job. I know you said that you didn't want to remove the doors, but it really shouldn't add that much time to the job. In addition painting doors on a horizontal plane is so my easier than vertical. Drips are so much easier to see and repair before they set.

OK! After digging through my paint cupboard I found a can that is a paint/primer mix... I can sand them too, which costs nothing, and good point about painting on a horizontal plane... I'll see how hard they are to remove and try that :)

Yes, this is a basement... I should specify that this isn't a permanent solution to the room! We are saving up for the official basement renovation... when things will be done properly :)
We just need to use the room in the meantime, and I wanted it to feel nice for now! These cabinets will get pulled out and replaced with new ones (he brought them home from a dumpster, because I needed storage space for homeschool stuff)

I spent months - MONTHS! - repainting my kitchen cabinets and trim from a deep red to a creamy white. Painting cabinets is not a job I ever care to tackle again, and even though I took some shortcuts such as not removing the doors, it was still very tedious work. How long do you think it will be before you tackle your renovation? If you can live with those cabinets as they are right now without exerting the time and energy to paint them, you might strongly consider doing so. I understand wanting a quick fix, but honestly? Those cabinets don't look bad at all to me, compared to what an unprofessional paint job could turn them into.

It sounds like this could be a kid's/homeschool space, or is it just where the storage is? I was thinking, instead of painting - which I'd never tackle myself, because I HATE painting, is I'd invest in some inexpensive, fun decals to make them less utilitarian....this might not be to your taste at all, but it could be made more kid friendly and fun, depending on what you'd be willing to spend/search for.

Why not just paint the oak? Scrub the white, then sand and paint the oak to match or an accent color. Way less work and no need to remove the doors, just leave them open until completely dried/cured.

If you don't want to do all the prep work and the right paint, just back away and let your DH replace the counters, Clean up, and enjoy until you are ready to give it the long term reno.

I'm working on painting a single cabinet and two stools with my son. I had to slow him down and kept telling him that 75-90% of a good paint job is in the prep. He didn't love it, but he sanded, we've primed and just put the first coat of paint on. They are looking nice, but painting a series of cabinets is a labor intensive job. The other project we ave going is mine -- a small cabinet (small chest/large nightstand type) for my other son's apartment. Someone smeared some paint over part of it and gave up. I got it free, but my first big step was fixing what they did wrong. I'd hate to do that with more than one free standing cabinet.

Don't paint them. It's not worth doing half-assed. They will chip in a couple of months. Just leave them alone until you can replace them.

Honestly, I'd rather live with those cabinets as is for now vs. a bad paint job. I agree about just painting the oak. I would still use a primer. I'd get a quart of Zinsser 123. It's water based. You don't need to sand. You could also use it on the white part of the cabinets as it's a bonding primer. For the wood areas I would lightly sand with 220 after a coat of primer because it will raise the wood grain. And the Ace paint you're showing will work fine.

Justgottabme is right. If you paint the wood color only it will save a lot of work. If you remove a door and take it shopping the paint folks can match it for you. You will still have to tape up the door because the sheen may differ. Use a primer.

How many cabinets do you need to paint? If it's only a few doors here's what I would do if I was going for cheap and quick but wanted it to have a chance of looking decent for a while:

Buy a SPRAY CAN of 123. (less than $5) Take the doors off and take them outside. Sand the oak part, it looks suspiciously shiny and who knows what kind of finish is on it. Give them a quick wipe down with windex, then water, and let dry. Spray on a light coat of the primer, let dry, then take them inside, lay them flat, and do two coats of your green paint. Wait a couple days before putting the doors back on.

Rattlecan 123 seems to stick better than the water based stuff in the can and it's definitely the lazy way to go, but if you have a whole bunch of doors to paint buying a quart of bonding primer will be cheaper than buying a bunch of spray cans.

The "paint/primer" won't stick any better than your paint. You need to use actual primer, or just take your chances sanding and painting.

I agree with Justgottabme too. I repainted those same cabinets, and because the body of the cabinets is a formica-like material, they do not hold the paint well and must be seriously prepped. Just paint the wood part. They can be quite nice looking with the wood in a contrasting color.

We have similar cabinets in our office, but could not close it for the week plus it would have taken to change out all the cabinets. All remodeling of this building had to be done on weekends and Thursday's only. We had painting contractors for everything else, but Handy Guy and I did a bit of experimenting and came up with a color palette that integrated the cabinets with a new color on the Formica. I think it was Sherwin Williams' Black Fox or Seal. He used a small roller for the fronts of the cabinet doors and drawers; the oak cabinets were actually in VG condition and were better quality than similar new ones. To pull this off we used a countertop with subtle orange flecks, and a pale palette of neutrals with black.

You can see just the edge of the cabinets at right in the picture below:

the lighting in these pictures is horrible, sorry. We have a three other central workstations, three other closed door offices and seven exam rooms and they all have successfully (I think) incorporated the old cabinets refreshed with the Formica faces painted. He used a deglosser, primer, and two coats of semi gloss paint.

It's all been said but I'll cast another vote - Don't paint them. Change the counter top. You could paint the wood but honestly, I probably wouldn't even do that. They may not be the most fashionable cabinets at the moment but trying to make them into something they aren't is a waste. When you get to your full basement remodel, if you haven't messed up these cabinets someone else can use them - Habitat for Humanity would be glad to have them.

Those look like laminate fronts with oak trim. They are going to require more and better prep and paint to look good than a standard wood cabinet. If this is short term and you don't want to put in the work, leave them. They will look so much better with the new counter. At a minimum, do the counter and then decide whether to do it right or leave them alone.

My daughter has the same cabinets. She just painted the wood pulls green. The cabinets took on a far better look with a simple change. You could also paint those pulls stainless steel. I also like the photos from olychick. A fun surprise, perhaps painting the wood to match one of the decal design colors.

How old is the paint and primer you found in the cupboard? I have a lot of stuff in my paint cupboard as well, and I'm constantly amazed to discover how old it is. It would be okay for random touch-ups, but I'd never embark on a new project with this stuff. For its impact, paint is a relatively cheap investment.

Eggshell wall paint is not the right paint for the job even if new.

OP -- what are you thinking of all these suggestions? I'm really impressed!

Another idea, cover the panels with the adhesive chalkboard or whiteboard contact paper and use them for drawing/writing.

I have painted those exact kind of cabinets, also for a basement kitchen, and it is worth doing and not that hard. I would say that priming is key, otherwise the paint will just slide around on the laminate. I usually use one of Zinser's products as they dry quickly and seem to stick very well. If you wash the cabinets and tape the trim and hinges one evening you get the primer and a couple of coats of paint on the next day.

I should have added, agreeing with lascatx, that eggshell is not the right choice. Semi-gloss would be better.

I would just have the counter top changed- the pink is terrible! but, even if I really didn't like the cabinets, I would make do for now... not worth the time or trouble for the basement cabinets used for homeschooling storage.

you could look for inexpensive (or free!) knobs or handles for the cabinets to give them a marginally different look...

I'll be the odd man out! LOL

I had those very same cabinets in the base housing when I was in California.

I L-O-V-E-D them. They were six months old when we moved in. The shelves were adjustable. The insides were bright and light. I had never had such spanking new, fresh, clean looking cabinets.

The laminate was so easy to keep clean. A skirt of windex, a swipe with a cloth, and they were done. Since they were white I could see smears and fingerprints as they happened. 30 seconds later the messes were gone.

I did not have pink countertops. If you're adding a new countertop, they should be fine. Once you see how easy they are to keep clean, I'll bet you love them.

I'm seriously considering something similar when we finally get to do our kitchen.

Timely thread. I was out of town last week; did you come to my house to take that picture??? :) I replaced these recently but have more to replace in the other bathroom.