My wife has been watching too much Fixer-Upper, and now wants white cabinets in the kitchen. We've currently got veneer. I've read that you have to sand it to get it to take paint, but there's some small molding in the design that would make nearly impossible to sand it all. Then, wife found pics of someone's kitchen that said they painted theirs & did "very minimal sanding".

Anyone have any experience with painting veneer? Would appreciate any tips/thoughts.

Thanks!

J.R.

If it’s sealed or finished (i.e., no longer porous), not even epoxy will form a lasting bond.

If it was me I would suggest. Remove doors (Mark them as to where they go) sand stiles and paint, have New doors and drawer fronts made. Plastic veneer is very hard to keep paint on from scratching, peeling, the sharp edges are the worst. You can also have the existing veneer replaced over the top with New fronts.

I did a makeover in a bathroom last year that had stained veneer cabinets.
I removed all doors and drawers and used liquid sandpaper to degloss all.
Then primed and painted. Turned out very nice.

Are they wood veneer?

I call them PYH (Punishing Your Husband) shows.

The current finish is more important than being veneer.
Start with cleaning with TSP

If the current finish is polyurethane, extensive sanding is needed.
Poly surfaces are almost plastic.

Chances are the cabinets are stained and sealed.
With stained and sealed or varnished surfaces, liquid deglosser will work very well.