Kitchen Cabinets...Help?

[Mr. Clean]

I need to clean some kitchen Cabinets that our about 40 years old and haven't been throughly clean in a long time. This is for a good friend and I wont be charging anything he just bought the house so I don't know anything about the cabinets but it seems theres a lot of grease build up on them and when I wiped it with soap and water I got more stain on my rag then grease or dirt.
What would you suggest to clean the cabinets to prep for Painting. I will do some light sanding to help the paint stick but would like your opinions for a good wood cleaning product.

Thank,
Jim

[Kevin]

Jim
from this site alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/refinish.html
I would mix a little lemon soap with the murphys for the first few cleanings, sounds like you will have to perform multiple cleans. They also sugeest linseed oil and mineral spirits, which I have never used but sounds like a good idea.

CLEANING:
A good cleaning can work wonders on a piece of old furniture.
When a piece of furniture is waxed or polished there is always a fine layer of dust that is mixed in with the wax or polish and over a period of years the layer will darken and obscure the grain pattern of the wood.
Areas of furniture that are touched often form a build-up of body oils, hand cream and whatever else happens to be on a persons hands. Combined with the fingers' salty oil, the finish underneath begins to break down. The longer it stays on the finish, the more time it has to break it down. The area begins to turn dark as the salty oil attracts dirt. At this point severe damage is being done to the finish.
The next time you feel a soft, sticky finish on a chair and can scrape it off with your fingernail, you'll know the reasons for the damage.
To prevent damage to finish that is touched often--chair arms and backs, around the pulls on kitchen cabinets, and chests of drawers, and bed posts--you should clean these areas at least twice a year.
One of the easiest and safest ways to clean up old furniture is with Murphy Oil soap - a mild soap that won't damage the wood finish but is very effective in getting rid of the grunge of ages.
Another effective and quick way to refurbish a piece is to use a mix of linseed oil and mineral spirits.
I use three parts of mineral spirits to one part boiled linseed oil

[Mr. Clean]

Kevin,

As usual great advice Thanks for the link

Jim

[Kevin]

More than Welcome Let us know how they turn out

[monayuki]

Also you might want to use Wood Stains to give wood Fresher Looks and apply Finish Coats Gloss,Satin or Semi-Gloss.

[ellen]

i find that if you use orange glo, the oil, wipe it on heavily, let it sit for a while and then wipe it off, it really takes the grime off! good luck
ellen

[Mr. Clean]

Thank You for all the great advice. The Cabinets are looking great all things considered. I will try to post a pic or 2 when they are complete.
Thanks,
Jim