Oak can certainly be painted but we recommend that a professional painter that has done a lot of cabinetry work be used. Preparation is the key. Have the cabinets cleaned very thoroughly to remove any grease and dirt that exists from just normal use. They should be sanded and primed. In order to tone down the strong grain in oak, the painter can skim over large areas to fill some of the grain. Then they should be spray painted. Doors and drawer fronts should be removed for painting.

I agree with Brickwood that it's absolutely possible AND that it's a process AND that preparation is key. It is definitely possible to do it yourself, but you have to be a very competent painter with a lot of patience and TIME. This is a process that takes DAYS. The best finishes are ones that are sprayed on because they are super smooth.

1. Pick the hardware you're going to use. If you need to fill in old holes and drill new ones, you need to know before you start the refinishing process.

2. Remove the doors and drawers and hardware, making a note and LABELING the exact location of each door and drawer (they have to go back to exactly the place you took them from or your kitchen doors and drawers will always be crooked and won't work well).

3. Completely degrease the face frames, doors, and drawer fronts (commercial degreasing agents are excellent).

4. If you're going to fill in old holes, you might consider buying dowels and drilling the old holes a little larger, and gluing in dowels before sanding. If you have no holes to plug, sand the finish off the face frames, cabinet doors and drawer fronts. You can use a rough sandpaper first, then finish with a fine grit. Use a shop vac and tack cloth to remove all dust from sanding from the surface. Vacuum the entire room to make it as dust free as possible.

5. If you have heavy grain / scratches / dents in the doors and drawer fronts or face frames, apply wood filler. Sand, vacuum, and tack.

6. Apply sanding sealer to face frames, doors, and drawer fronts. This should capture any grain that gets raised during the sanding process. Sand with fine grit sandpaper to make the surface very very smooth. Vacuum and tack.

7. Apply primer. Spraying it on is fine. If you're going to brush it on, you want the doors and drawer fronts to lie flat & you want to use a paint that self-levels. Sand with fine grit sandpaper, vacuum, tack. Prime the face frames as well.

8. Apply first layer of paint - if you're not spraying on the finish, you'll want to brush it on carefully & not too thick -- you don't want brush marks or drips. Allow it to dry COMPLETELY. Sand with fine grit sandpaper, vacuum, tack. Apply finish coat and allow it to dry completely (no sanding after final coat) If you screw something up, let it dry completely, then re-sand and refinish.

9. If you've done a good job of labeling, you can now reinstall the doors and drawer fronts, adjusting everything so that all doors and drawer fronts are level and aligned properly. Otherwise, you're going to spend a bunch of time figuring out which door and which drawer goes where.

10. Figure out where you want to put the handles and knobs and make a template so that they're in the same place on every drawer or door without having to manually measure (you will be GLAD YOU MADE A TEMPLATE)

11. Enjoy.

After you finish reading the steps, hire a professional. :-)

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I guess I should hire a professional :) I'll get a few quotes and see how it compares to getting new white cabinets or perhaps refacing.

An average professional cabinet finishing job is 5-7K. Larger kitchens, or ones with more details, would be more.

Is it possible to paint them white to look like the enameled maple white cabinets.

The oak grain is going to telegraph through somewhat. There are methods to try to smooth out the grain with fillers, etc. Fine Paints of Europe products come to mind. It is DIYable if you do your research and understand it is NOT a fast process. Consulting a pro painter with cabinet experience is a really good idea.

It sounds like it will be very expensive, but i'll get some quotes. Thanks!

It is certainly less expensive than tearing out the cabinets and getting new ones

Cost depends on where you are and the size of the kitchen. On average, we pay about $3500.00 to $4000.00 for our painters to do a kitchen. We are not in a large metropolitan area.

It looks beautiful. I am just concerned that with time the grain will show through. How long has it been painted white?

The grain shows through immediately unless you pay a lot extra for the major extra labor of filling the pores.

Not sure that it's major extra labor to do the filler pass. You just need a big tub of wood filler and to skim coat the entire surface once you've sanded off the finish. A nice, wide putty knife or plastic applicator helps to create a flat surface. Yes, it's an extra application & drying & sanding step, but just one step.

Time is money. That isn't a ''just'' step. It's a major labor addition to an already expensive labor project. That would take it square to the option of just replacing it all.

I have seen some nice oak cabinet kitchen refreshes that do not paint the cabinets, but instead work with the original / vintage character. If you would like some examples, let me know and I will post some:) This would be if your cabinets are in good shape.

I think what the first question should be asked is what is the condition and quality of your cabinets? As both could determine what direction you should go.