Do I put a satin polyurethane over a painted cabinet?

Yes you can but tell us what you are trying to achieve.

In my experience, this will not work. Polyurethane stain is designed to "sink into" the material it's put on. It will not be able to penetrate the paint. You'll end up with a runny mess.

Rick I think your mind transposed the word satin into stain.

Haha, yes it did!

I was focusing on the word Polyurethane. I've tried only a couple times with Poly over paint and had no luck. I don't think that the finish (satin - flat - gloss) would matter, though, would it?

PS - in any event, I'd highly recommend trying it on a spot before going full out on the whole project.

They pretty much eliminated flat from the poly lineup but the others are still going strong. I have had good luck with spray poly over paint, two light coats. If I brush the poly my first coat is not thick, more of a tac surface and the second coat sticks better and flashes better. Always got to watch for runs.

Hey Rick, thanks for the compliment. Minwax does make a stain poly called PolyShade. I do not use it much because each coat makes things get darker and you just don't have as much control as with rubbed stain. Have a good one.
Bob

ballengerb1 - you earlier told me if I put a polyurethane in my cabinet with an odor I didn't like, it would take care of the odor. Should I put it over the paint? I think it's latex.