I agree with Kathryne. Sanding and using spraypaint is the best solution. But use a good primer. The thing about spraypaint is that spraypainting is an art in itself. If you can do it without runs, more power to you.

If you want to use a brush and minimize brush strokes, apply the paint in one direction, and then without re-wetting the brush work the paint over in perpindicular strokes. You do end up wtith a bit of a crosshatch, but it's a lot more subtle than all vertical or horizontal brushstrokes.

A picture of the cabinet door style and cabinet layout would help but I imagine they are flat and not paneled?  My business partner used to make these outdoor carpets by polyurethaning canvas fabric (many coats).  This gave me an idea -what if you took the doors down, wrapped them in fabric (tacking them neatyl on the inside) and then painting them with a satin polyurethane - the paint would act as an adhessive and give you a very durable, washable finish.  Maybe do a test to see how it would work on an interior shelf.  You could also put a wild large print fabric on the inside back of the cabinets. 

Another idea is to loose the upper cabinet doors altogether and frame the melamine boxes and shelves with wood shelf molding. This of course depends on if you like the open look or not. 

Which ever way you go please share pics!

Good luck,

Lynne at Design by Photo

I had a similiar situation with a house I owned about 9 years ago.  What I ended up doing was lightly sanding them, using a primer and then painted them a dark beige.  After doing one door and seeing how it looked I decided that the brush marks made them look tacky, so I stripped the door down and redid it using spray paint.  The spray paint worked much better and had a more finished look to it.  When I was done I took wood wax to help preserve them (though I think laquer would work as well).  

Another thing I have seen people done on old cabinet doors is to lightly sand the entire surface and then use gel stain.   I haven't done it myself but it did not look too hard. 

I know what you mean...  I have some really ugly cabinets myself.  I'm just ignoring them until I redo the entire kitchen.

If the cabinets doors are finished the same way on the inside, I'd try a test there first.  If something works, cool, do the entire kitchen, if not...  well, at least it's not visible to anyone who's not digging through your cabinets.

I'm guessing they're laminated, so you'll likely have to deal with the plastic-like finish.  Sandpaper would be a good start to knock down some of the shine and make it more accepting of a paint finish.  If you use a good primer and take your time you'll probably end up with a passable solution until you're ready to replace them.

Also, think about installing new hardware.

Good luck!