Carpentry and Woodworking - kitchen cabinets

Hello all

My home is an older house and the cabinets have a very dark finish, the doors have a groove that is about 1/2" deep and goes around on all the doors. How can these be made lighter? I have thought about painting but I don't want my cabinets to look cheap and I was told sanding may be my only option. I do plan on putting lighter hinges and handles on but I am afraid it's going to take alot more. My kitchen is very dark. They added a room on so I don't have a kitchen window. I am hoping somebody has had to deal with this problem and can help me. You can send pictures at ******* if you do have ideas that you think might interest me.
Thank You

To restain the cabinet a lighter color you would need to strip the current finish. This is best done using a chemical stripper [sanding alone would take to long] If there were laminates used in the construction of the cabinet care must be used so you don't harm the veneer.

If you wish to paint the cabinets, the key to a good looking, long wearing paint job is in the prep and the use of the right primer/paint. Here's some good info on painting cabinets;
http://forum.doityourself.com/painting/292098-ideal-cabinet-repaint.html

Additional or maybe changing out the existing lighting may be another viable option.

I think the paint and stain option looks the best. Here is a customers old dark plywood cabinets. I removed some drawers so they could fit a stove top and built an end unit. Plus I added end molding to dress up the drawers and doors. I sprayed them with Binz water base primer, painted them with an off-white paint. Then I dry brushed some gel stain to give them an antiqued look. Topped it off with a clear top coat.


Before
http://www.stucluff.com/pics/forum/andb4.jpg

After
http://www.stucluff.com/pics/forum/and2.jpg