How to Paint Oak Cabinets Cherry

Remove the doors of the cabinets and remove the hinges and other hardware from the doors using a screwdriver.

Prepare the cabinets for painting by sanding the finish with a fine grain sandpaper -- a 150 grit should do it. Sand along the grain, in lines. Do this until you remove all shine from the cabinets.

Paint the cabinets with a white primer. The primer can be oil or latex, but keep in mind that the type of primer you use will also determine what type of product you use later in the project. Do not mix oil and latex products -- use one or the other. Latex primer will dry faster and will not produce harsh fumes, and you may get a crisper finish with latex products later. Paint with the grain. Wait for the primer to dry as per the manufacturer's instructions.

Paint the cabinets in the base color. In faux wood grain painting, the base color is always the lightest color of the wood--it is the color seen between the wood grains. In the case of a cherry cabinet, this will look like an orange-red color. Paint gives a more complete coverage and richer, more solid color than stain. Use a flat paintbrush to apply the paint to the flat areas, and an angled sash brush to apply the paint to the angled areas like corners and the molding around panels, painting with the grain. Wait for the paint to dry as per the manufacturer's instructions. Paint until you can no longer see the primer underneath. This may take multiple coats.

Paint the wood grain on the cabinets using a darker paint like a deep reddish-brown or a brownish-black. This color will be the darker color you see on the sample wood. To achieve this wood grain effect, study the wood grain of your sample of stained cherry wood, and mimic what you see with the paint brush. For example, if the wood grain in your sample piece of wood is long and curving and smooth, your brush strokes should be the same. Use a fan brush to produce long rows of straight lines with one brush stroke, and soften the lines of the grain by very gently stroking the paint with a soft bristle brush, moving in the direction of the grains, after the paint has been applied. Copy the wood grain of the stained cherry wood piece as closely as possible.

Wait for the paint to dry completely before reattaching the cabinet doors to the cabinets.