I painted my old melamime kitchen cupboards (that were brown) with some special paint by Crown which is called "Cupboard makeover piant". It also covers MDF and formica (the same stuff as melemime). I have only ever seen it in UK DIY stores compared to other European stores (looked in both France and Spain). Give the cupboards a very light sand and apply the paint. It dries within 6 hours but takes 2 full weeks to harden. I then covered this paint with a water-based acrylic for a colour of my choice as the upboard paint was in a blue that I did not like, so I used this as the base for the green acrylic which can be wiped clean. I then purchased some new silver handles, and have excellent looking cupboards that cost me about £50 to convert all eight. If you cannot find the paint that I described above, then try to cover them straight with the water based acrylic, but give a light sand before painting and allow to harden for 24 hours between coats.
