UPDATE BELOW**: I will update this once I am completely done with my project. This is why I am reserving the 5th star. So far, this product is beautiful. I have finished the cabinetry and have the doors left to finish. That will be the test of my opinion. But so far, the cabinets are beautiful. I did use the glaze on the cabinetry as I read the other reviews that said with espresso, it wasn't noticeable. And the extra drying time was not in my time frame. I almost gave up on the top coat. In fact, I even went to the store and bought minwax just in case. What changed my mind was following another review who suggested putting it on heavier and then smoothing. This worked like magic. If you put it on too thin, you are going back over (a big NO NO) because it dries really fast. Instead, fill your brush well so that it goes on thick and this does give you the working time you need to smooth it all out. And yes, if you leave any area white, it dries white. Nothing very fine sand paper won't take care of but just avoid it by being meticulous about cleaning up those pools and runs.

Deglossing and prep is a HUGE project. Plan on spending hours on this. And you might as well because like everyone, including Rustoleum said, it is the key to the product applying and staying. Why go to all this trouble and not do it right. I washed with Dawn soap (suggested here by another review) and then used Krud Kutter (another suggestion made in a review) and then deglossed. I will degloss the doors a second time before painting because I am not taking any chances. And a light sanding on the main areas doesn't hurt.

When you first paint, you will see brush marks. Don't panic, they disappear if you are using a good quality brush. So far, this product has been a nice surprise.

**UPDATE: All in all this project took me about one month to complete from start to finish. That being said . . .DON'T let that scare you off. It is absolutely worth it in the end! I have cabinets that look brand new. People who have been punished into having to gaze upon my disgusting prior cabinets can't believe the results.

The reason it took me so long is that I didn't have the work space to lay out all 19 cabinet doors. If I did, this would have gone a lot faster. I had to work in groups of four and through a busy schedule of work and traveling out of town. Like another reviewer said, I left my cabinets full so it really wasn't a big deal to have the doors off.

A few tips now that I am done:
-Follow the advice to remove hinges and hardware and store them in numbered containers. I would take this one more step further and then also label each hinge as top and bottom. We found there to be some issues when reinstalling and had to switch hinges around to make the doors hang level
-DO figure out if you are going to change or add hardware BEFORE you paint your cabinets. Drill the holes BEFORE and it will save you a lot of touch up after you're done.
-When doing touch up, I used a very small artist brush to dab paint onto the marks. Then I took a dry brush and feathered it. Did the same with the topcoat. Despite every angle, I can not see the touch up.

After getting a few costly quotes on cost to have the restrooms and kitchen done I finally decided to purchase this kit and give it a try. I purchased the expresso kit and my cabinets were originally an honey oak color.I did not expect much considering I am terrible at things like this but I must say the kit is so good that there's really no way to "mess up" as long as you follow the directions step by step. I watched the thoroughly video (provided in the kit) for each step.
while doing this project I was very busy or just didn't feel like bothering with it so it took me about 4 weekends but could easily be a weekend project depending on the size of the cabinets. I will say the top coat is horrible and could of potentially ruined my cabinets (which is why I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5) but I didn't give a chance to. After seeing how bad it was I immediately stopped using it and went to Home Depot to purchase the minwaxed water based satin coat (did not want too much gloss so I chose this one) this top coat is amazing. When I do the other bathroom and kitchen I won't even attempt to use the top coat in the kit I will continue using the min wax it works great.
Easy project and amazing results this is really hard to mess up even if you're not the best painter it wont show ... simply follow the directions step by step and don't use the top coat in the kit. (My opinion)

Would totally purchase this a million times over. My cabinets had a serious mold problem to where months of treatment eventually stripped them of the original color and they were horrendous to look at. It was so bad that I began to hate going into the kitchen. I'm SO glad I found out about this kit. Being just me, it was a long (kinda fun) process but boy was it worth it. I was hesitant about using the decorative glaze as reviews seemed to have mixed results but in my case I'm happy to report that it turned out gorgeous! I love the deeper richness it gave this color. I even ended up buying all new cabinet knobs...which I originally wasn't going to do...but once the project was finished, the original knobs just didn't do it justice.

This product is a MIRACLE. I saved so much money and it was so easy to use!!
I will give some tips to people that has YELLOW OAK CABINETS like the ones I had:

1- Don't over do the deglosser. Yes this is a very important step but if you over do it and apply too much strength the chemical will open the pores of the wood so much and so big that it will be very hard to fill them with the paint. Just a little bit and it works fine.

2.- Please DON'T skip the glaze even if you are using espresso or a dark color like I did. I tried the glaze on a door then compared to another door that didn't have it after it was dry. WOW! it really makes the wood grain more noticeable. You cabinets will look better with the glaze so don't be lazy! just do the glaze (only in the outside tho). I didn't even use the rags, they were leaving white hairy residues on my doors. I just used a foam brush for this step.

3.- DON'T listen to people that are saying not to do the protective coat. WOW can't believe there are actually tips around telling you to just leave the cabinets without it. You won't be able to even wipe the cabinets, if you use a napkin to wipe them.. it will be a disaster since everything sticks to the "raw" paint. Your best friend for the protective coat will be water! Yes, Water! Use a semi-wet foam brush to retouch those white areas. This will make things easier.

I am posting a before and after of my kitchen, the staining part took me a week, just by myself working all day long.

Recently moved into an apartment in a very old building. The kitchen cabinets were awful looking and worn in. I knew the building wouldn't replace them and because I'm renting I didn't want to spend a lot to fix or change it. After some research I went with this kit for how complete and easy it seemed to use and I'm very please with the results. Everything you need comes in the kit except the brushes.
After watching a few YouTube videos you can follow all the steps. While it's easy it is time consuming. It took a total of 3 days per cabinet. Theres a lot of waiting after each coat applied especially if you're using the glaze and top coat.
A few reviews I read hated the top coat it came with and I could see why. If overly used it definitely can leave a light blue-ish glaze. You really need to use a small amount of it and work quick with it. One reviewer suggested using foam brushes and water. That was such a helpful tip and worked super well for me. I used 2 foam brushes. One I dampened with water and used to apply the top coat, the other one I used dry to help evenly spread the coat making sure it looked clear. Definitely a little more work but worth it.
I only had 2 cabinets I was painting and had a lot left over. The kit is definitely enough to paint a full kitchen.
I would definitely recommend the kit if you're looking to transform cabinets on a budget.