[header] How to whitewash cabinets [title] Determine what type of wood your cabinets are made of. [step] Whitewashing is best suited to a soft wood like pine. [substeps] A wood like oak will require pickling, a technique of whitening wood. 
Pickling is considered a method, not a finish, and though you can pickle pine and other soft woods, woods like oak and ash are the most common type of wood you can pickle. You can create your own pickling stain for oak and ash wood, or you can purchase pre made pickling stains.