I know this is an old thread but I have the same questions so thought I'd hop on to this one rather than start a new one. Hope that's OK!

I'm exploring the idea of getting real wood cabinets vs painted white cabinets. I currently have oak cabinets that are showing wear around areas that get a lot of contact with steam or water splashing (above the range, and below the sink).

I haven't made any effort to protect or maintain my cabinets, though. I never loved these 90s style orangey-oak cabinets! But in my new kitchen, I will be getting cabinets that I love and I want to be sure I know how to care for them before I feel comfortable going ahead with wood cabinets.

How do I care for and protect the wood that is prone to be in contact with steam and water?

Protect cabinets from steam, and water, and touches from your bare hands. Get serious about kitchen ventilation ducted to the exterior, and use it every single time you turn on a burner. That takes care of the steam, and grease buildup. As for water, why would you slop water all over a wood product anyway? You wouldn't do that with your grandmother's breakfront. Kitchen towels should be hung where they are easy to grab if you have wet hands. Floors shouldn't have buckets of water sloshed on them. Damp mopping uses a mop that is so wrung out that you have no drips. Put correct sized, functional, hardware on your cabinet and have hour hands grasp it instead of touching the wood. Kitchens are functional workrooms FIRST, and pretty extensions of your living space a distant second.

The other part of the equation after you learn correct care behavior is the finish on the cabinets themselves. You don't touch the wood, you touch the finish. It is what keeps the wood looking good year after year, and most pay zero attention to that part of the equation. Old nitrocellulose lacquers and varnishes that a lot of ''custom'' makers still use get dissolved or gummy fairly easily by grease and hand contact. You want high quality factory finish on your cabinets, or a true custom maker who uses a catalyzed conversion finish in a clean room, generally with supplied air. That won't be the cheap, parts assembler who sprays sawdust and bugs into your finish by doing it in your home. You have to have a clean room if you want a clean and durable finish. Finishing a cabinet properly is easily 50% of the cost of cabinets. Only a hack lets unfinished cabinets out of his workshop. Know the difference between finishes, and where they are done, and know what is behind the superficial look that is all most people care about. All cabinets are hardly created equal.

And despite the SPAM touting the use of patent medicine wood creams and cure all unguents, nothing should touch the high quality factory finish on your cabinets but a dry dusting cloth, or a damp microfiber with a bit of detergent to handle spills. Then ''rinse'' with a water only dampened microfiber, so that the detergent residue doesn't accumulate dirt sticking to it. It is the residue of those ''care'' products that ruins cabinets. No Murphy's. That stuff is evil incarnate. No orange glop cleaners. No anything but dry dusting 98% of the time. If you have followed the above, you won't have anything on the cabinets that needs anything else. And that goes for stained wood or ''painted'' cabinets both. "Paint'' is a misnomer with modern cabinets. Modern opaque coatings have almost nothing in common with house paint.

Thanks for offering your advice. My re-finisher (stain, lacquer) just gave me the same info - dust only, no oils, orange products, waxes or wood soap. Sounded strange to me, I feel better about it now.