If your cabinets still don't look spectacular after cleaning, you may have to refinish or paint them. The cabinet refinishing process is similar to refinishing furniture. Unless you're planning to take your cabinets down, there are a few extra things to remember. As you've already discovered from cleaning, working with cabinets in place on the wall can be messy and awkward.
Liquid strippers work best, but be sure to use the gel or semi-paste types.
They won't drip as much when used on vertical surfaces. However, before you can buy the proper stripper, you'll need to find out what kind of finish you have on your cabinets. The original finish is one of several possible materials. Most of them look identical to an untrained eye. Use the chart below to determine what type of finish you have.