I want to paint my kitchen cabinets. What comes first.

Make sure they are clean and dry. Remove the doors and hardware. Mark the doors and cabinets with tape where they go. Lightly sand the doors and cabinets to remove any gloss and roughen the surface for paint with 120- to 220-grit sandpaper. Use a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust after sanding. Prime with a stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123, KILZ,or BIN and have it tinted to the color of the top coat. This will prevent dark or stained surfaces from showing through the top coat. Acrylic, or water-base, paints are low-fume and clean up easily with water. Alkyd, or oil-base, paints require good ventilation because the paint contains solvents that can irritate your lungs and make you feel sick. Alkyd options require mineral spirits for cleanup, but they provide a hard, durable paint finish. Whichever you use, buy the best-quality paint you can afford for a lasting kitchen cabinet finish. Seal with at least three coats with a water based polyurethane. Use a small foam roller and foam brush for a smooth finish.

You have to degrease kitchen cabinets no matter how clean they may seem. There is a good liquid degreaser available at most home centers like Lowes, Menards, Home Depot - I think even Walmart. It is (I think) TSP and it is a miracle. Use a soft cloth and some elbow grease and they will come clean. I recently used it to remove 40 years worth of built up furniture polish from the dining room table. I do not think I'll have to sand it now. I also used it to prepare all the trim in the family room before painting it. It doesn't chip and is easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth. You could also mix an emulsifier in the paint - it won't change the color of the paint (I added it to white) and it makes the paint thicker and it dries with a more durable finish. After I do the dining room, the kitchen is next. That TSP also removes all the oil and grease from the range hood so it can be painted.

First degrease the cabinets using either Dollar Tree Awesome Degreaser and Awesome Orange in hot water using a car sponge and wearing kitchen gloves. Sand, prime and paint.... I like to use satin Kitchen and Bath paint but chalk paint seems to be very popular too. You can make your own chalk paint too... http://www.dummies.com/home-garden/home-painting/3-ways-to-create-your-own-chalk-paint/

Ophs. I take all the doors and hardware off, labeling and numbering with painters tape and keeping a chart. I like to put the hardware either in bowls for each door or a sandwich bag labeled. I use a 6" smooth roller and a 3" foam roller, and a good badger brush to drag off any texture. I usually like to do this in the garage or on a nice day outside. I usually put up saw horses and boards but you can do them on buckets or even on a painter's drop cloth.