CV is 20 years out of date for a cabinet finish. The up to date cabinet maker uses a water based 2K urethane based finish like MilesiI, Renner, or Envirolak, etc etc. All of that is infinitely better than plain old house paint.

Your KD should have told you that if you want walls and cabinets to match, you take a finished cabinet door to the paint store to have them match it. You don’t try to match cabinets to wall paint.

So is this newer water based paint applied pre or post installation?

Also how are these water based options for repainting ?

No one uses trim paint on cabinets unless they want to keep painting them every couple of years. They use industrial grade wood coatings. You never end up repainting cabinets. Because they don't need it. You might touch them up. But that's it.

Even satin wall paint in the same color doesn't "match" semi gloss trim in the same color.

Ok so basically if you use CV you can never change the color and repaint?

Why on earth do you want to repaint cabinets that don't need to be repainted? Of course, you can, but why would you? A professional finisher can clean, sand, prime, and paint them, with another professional cabinet finish, in a different color. And you can pay them the 10-15K to do it. Or you can learn to spray yourself, and DIY it over a couple of months of work.

But you are hung up on something that doesn't ever happen. You don't repaint cabinets every couple of years like they are walls. That's just crazy making.

My issue is that I want flexibility on the color over time. If I get sick of a look can I have them repainted

You're spending a lot on very good quality cabinets finished in a color currently in favor. 10 years from now the cabinet could be in excellent condition but the color is no longer the current choice. You want to spend the money to change the color without buying a new set of cabinets. You can ask your cabinetmaker what he would charge to refinish his cabinets in another color. That's the information you need.

Thanks dan1888 — the issue is he only paints his CV in his paint studio he doesn’t come to the house to paint. That is why I’m considering having the cabinets installed without paint and then getting a professional to paint them in a paint that can be updated later

Does anyone know of a professional cabinet painter in the Philly mainline area that I could speak to?

ANY professional cabinet finisher will finish in home. Not necessarily a cabinet maker. And they will all use professional grade coatings. Or, YOU can do all the effort to do that, if you are that will o the wisp on one of the most expensive things that you will ever put in your house. And then ruin, with 10 coats of paint in 20 years.

Just pick white. And never change it. Or do cheap Ikea, and change the doors and side panels every couple of years.

Of course you want CV or better for your cabinets! You are spending 30, 40, 50, 60 THOUSAND on them, and you want them to last and look good long term. Otherwise, you’d just paint them with chalk paint every couple of months as it sloughs off and looks horrible.

People only do this once or twice in a lifetime. They don’t tackle repainting their cabinets every other year. Maybe in 15 years, sure. But that is super involved and expensive to do right. Which is one reason they don’t change their mind every year.

Of course you can paint over CV. Lots of groups on FB like Kitchen Cabinet Painting Experts will even walk you through all the steps to do it. It is labor intensive to do correctly, and is not something to tackle frequently. Or you end up with paint buildup, and it looks terrible.

Anything can be painted over. Including plastic and metal. Painting over a factory conversion varnish is done all the time on 20-40 year old cabinets. It’s one of the most cost effective solutions to a moderate remodel, if you DIY. You should do it on your existing cabinets, so you have an idea of what you‘re actually proposing. Refinishing with a new opaque takes weeks to do the right way for an amateur without professional tools. And that is why you will never do that again. You won’t repeat that.

Get your cabinets finished in his shop. There is a reason for it. It will be a better, stronger finish, and that stuff smells bad, and isnt done inside a house. Of course, you can repaint it if you ever need to, although unless you are very rough on your cabinets, you shouldnt need to, for the next 20-30 yrs anyway. You are buying all new cabinets, you want them to have a really great finish.