Cabinet finish

We made cabinets from plywood and are nearing the stage for finishing. The cabinets will be a desk and table. Will paint +primer work or use separate primer? Also, is latex paint sufficient? I've seen posts for kitchen cabinets recommending enamel paint.
Thanks.

 

Paint + primer is IMO a marketing gimmick. The whole point of a primer is to prepare the surface for paint. Primers bond to the surface and create a film that will help the next coat to cover better.

Skipping primer on a new unpainted surface is always a mistake imo. You should prime, lightly sand, (fine grit like 180/220) then paint.

Enamels can be latex. An enamel is a good choice for trim as it is durable, usually achieves a harder finish, has less chance of blocking (a paint term for sticking one surface to another).

But no, you don't want to use a latex wall paint on your cabinets.

You want to use the best paint possible on cabinets and furniture. That usually means shopping at a paint store, not at a box store.

 

Oil base enamels dry to the hardest film but light colors are prone to yellow [especially whites] Waterborne enamels are almost as tough, dry quick and don't yellow although they usually cost the most. There can be a big difference in quality with latex enamels! The cheap ones dry soft and will chip/peel if abused, the better quality latex enamels are decent.

Always use a separate dedicated primer over raw substrates! An oil base enamel undercoater would be best but there are latex primers that will do a decent job.