"Curmudgeon" wrote in message ...
Are you saying there's NO finish on the cabinets now? No poly or "varnish".
Cause the only way to "plug" the grain is to sand down to the BARE wood.

See my prev post (the one that you're replying to). Extracted here
for your convenience...

"I don't know what the existing varnish of my cabinets
are. I used to think they're polyurethene (the cabinets
are 17yrs old). Then, one day I had a wet towel left
hanging over identical cabinets overnight and the
top varnish just came off exposing bare stained wood.
I also did a test using denated alocohol on a spot
for 20min, and the finish turned really dull."

And if you don't know what a "tack rag" is, you'd better find out real
quick.

Is that all's needed, Roger? A dry wipe?

What a terrible thing to do to a very pretty wood. But, as my daddy used to
say, there's no accounting for taste!

Oak is too busy for me - okay as an accent piece; too overwhelming as
the dominant kitchen cabinets. It's just a personal preference. Your
daddy is right. I can say the same thing to you if you know what I
mean I don't like painting wood in general, but guess what there's
no one single formula; different solution for different situation. If
you allow yourself to be open minded, you'd open yourself to more
possibilities. Something that your daddy didn't tell you.