There are many ways to rejuvenate your kitchen cupboards. Some ways are very inexpensive and some will cost more depending on the tools you have, but even the most expensive (buying the necessary tools) will cost a fraction of the cost of new cabinets and you have the benefit of some new tools for other projects.
Mark the doors in some manner, use a bit of masking tape with a number or something to identify which door goes to which opening. It can be a major hair tearing jigsaw puzzle trying to match doors to openings and screwholes if they aren't identified. Remove the kitchen cupboard doors including the hinges from the cupboard fronts and lay them on your sawhorse work table and remove the rest of the hardware. While you have the hardware off, it's a good idea to clean it well with 0000 steel wool. Unless the insides of the kitchen cabinet doors are in bad shape finish wise, they generally won't need to be redone since they don't get the wear or frequent scrubbings that the exteriors get. If you're a husband, be sure to use lots of drop clothes and newspapers on countertops, on the floor and taped to adjacent walls. Besides the rewards for a job well done, you may get an extra hug for leaving the area clean. If you're a wife, the preparation is definitely a benefit and will save time, but you'll probably have to clean up the final mess in either case.
Before you scowl at me too hard, I know you keep your kitchen cabinets clean, but hygienically clean isn't always enough for redoing kitchen cupboards. No matter how well your kitchen is ventilated or how healthy your diet and cooking are, there is always a small amount of residue on the surface of your kitchen cupboards. If you like bacon and eggs for breakfast, a fried hamburger for lunch and a fried or broiled steak for dinner, then there is a bunch of residue. One little pin head of grease will cause a clear finish or paint to make a little crater with ridges and no matter how you coax the crater won't fill until the grease is gone. Prelude Furniture Cleaner and Orange Oil (see our dot com) are two of the best cleaners for removing the unseen greasy residue that can be harmful to a kitchen cabinet job. Besides doing a good job of cleaning, the Orange Oil gives a pleasant scent of a freshly peeled orange. It's always a good idea to try new chemicals in a small area first.
If the old finish, either paint or clear finish is sound and attached firmly to the surface, use it as a base for painting, it will save hours of work building it up to the point where it is now and will generally give a smooth base surface. One tried and true method for painting kitchen cabinets, after a thorough cleaning with TSP, use a deglosser such as liquid sandpaper. That should remove all traces of grease, but to be extra sure of a good, smooth surface, under coat with KILZ. KILZ will cover crayon, lipstick, ball point pen or almost anything else that regular paint will stick its tongue out at and avoid like sin. After applying the KILZ, following label instructions, you're ready to apply the final coat.
The above methods work equally well on metal kitchen cupboards. In fact, you will save yourself a huge amount of frustration it you don't strip the old finish off of metal kitchen cabinets, but use several coats of primer, sanding between coats, on chips and scratches, until they are feathered and smooth with the surrounding area. Just use the primer where it's necessary, not over the whole area.
You can find more information about refinishing, painting and refacing kitchen cabinets on our big screen web site www.refinishfurniture.com