I've done exactly one refacing job and it was wood - Walnut veneer with peel and stick backer. I prefinished the sheets using waterbased stain and clearcoat and there was some rippling of the veneer after the finish dried, but it flattened out fine during application.
The most painstaking part is doing the face frames. There's a lot of cutting and trimming to do, especially if you need to do the inside edges of the frames. I used a Virutex laminate slitter and a guillotine style paper cutter to cut the strips and that helped a lot. I'd imagine that the edges will be noticeable on a white painted job, as will your rail and stile joints.
I'd order some sample material and try everything first. Oakwood veneer sells a phenolic faced "veneer" designed specifically for paint grade jobs. I haven't tried it myself. You're right to worry about the larger end panels. The peel and stick adhesive is not forgiving. Once it sticks, it's stuck!
I spent a full week in the client's house doing a small kitchen, but I also replaced all of the doors and drawer fronts and added/modified a few cabinets. I charged almost $10k for all of the work and it wasn't enough.
Good luck!
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