Much like the ‘severe service’ described in car manuals, cabinets need a paint designed for ‘severe’ use. As a professional painting contractor serving Greater Boston and Metro West, we use an outstanding hybrid alkyd-acrylic coating made by Benjamin Moore called Advance – it dries to a very hard and dense finish – these properties allow it to resist staining from even tomato based sauces and stand up to the constant touching and handling kitchens experience.
Avoid typical paints designed for walls, ceilings and trim – while these may serve you well elsewhere, they lack the performance characteristics required for heavy use environments and will require repainting in short order.