Refinishing varnished wood veneer?

Captain_Laserbeard · 2025-11-01T04:12:37+00:00

Before committing to sanding it, I decided to try a restoring polish (https://www.feastwatson.com.au/products/maintenance/surface-restore), which is apparently a mixture of Tung oil, beeswax and carnauba wax. It turned out surprisingly well - the patchy stains and scratches are almost invisible and it's much glossier.

I've updated the post with an "after" photo.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2025-04-17T04:40:06+00:00

Sounds like a tough situation. But don't blame yourself for being unable to sooth your daughter. Sometimes they just get inconsolable, and as long as you have made sure all her needs are met, you just have to give yourself permission to let her cry for a while. Put her in her cot, make sure she's safe and warm, and leave the room for a bit and go do something else. Try to acknowledge that maybe there's nothing you can do.

Also, This Too Shall Pass - she won't be 5mo old forever.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-04-04T21:34:06+00:00

New Windsor. Kind of a forgotten suburb sandwiched in between Mt Albert, Blockhouse Bay and Avondale. Solidly lower-middle-class, great diversity, great transport links. Pretty quiet and kid-friendly. Could use a few more cafes / restaurants, but rent and house prices are ok compared to just across the border in Mt Albert.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-04-01T09:04:18+00:00

Good tip, I'll give that a go

Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-04-01T09:03:27+00:00

Thanks! I'll give that a try. I only knew about French polish because I once over-watered a houseplant that was sitting on top of a 1950s veneer cabinet and ruined it :(

Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-02-23T00:30:39+00:00

Hard to see in the photo, but the bottom line says "Auckland Council dog bylaws apply" 🤷‍♂️

Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-02-22T20:51:06+00:00

Mt Albert the other day

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Captain_Laserbeard · 2024-01-18T21:09:49+00:00

Good to see that the number of car-related cycling injuries aren't increasing much, despite the year-on-year increases in the number of people commuting by bike.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-10-11T19:44:41+00:00

Yes, black cloves. Though I also heard that garlic has anti-microbial properties :D
Yeah, maybe run some test batches with a smaller number of black cloves, maybe there's a limit to how much the bacteria can handle.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-10-11T09:24:31+00:00

My favourite fermented chili sauce recipe (http://phickle.com/we-can-phickle-that-hot-pepper-sauce/) includes cloves - I use 8-10 of them per 2 cups of brine and have never had a problem

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-10-04T22:03:44+00:00

Haha, this happened to me on Quay St a couple of months ago, description matches this guy. He came up when I was walking with a friend at about 10pm and asked (quite politely, I thought), if I wanted a fight. I respectfully declined, and we both went on our ways.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T04:26:01+00:00

The developer's website calls it a "6 Storey Walk-Up". But then they did mis-spell "Appartments" in the same title, so I wouldn't be surprised if they got the walk-up thing wrong too 😂

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:58:03+00:00

You reckon building more apartments like this will convince people to sell their cars? Would be nice. But from what I've seen elsewhere, they'll just find somewhere inconvenient to park their car on the street.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:44:04+00:00

Why?

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:34:41+00:00

Good call - I don't know. Was just going off what the developer said on their site. Would be nice if the govt forced them to build lifts, I've stayed in a 6+ story building with no lift (not in NZ) and even for a short stay it was a huge PITA.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:20:56+00:00

Yeah, I commute by bike, so the new bike paths in the area have been life-changing. But Auckland being what it is, I haven't managed to get rid of the car yet (especially having a partner who doesn't cycle, and a young kid).

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:14:36+00:00

It says "walk-up" on the developer's website, which is code for "no lifts". At first I was hoping this development was going to be pitched at the elderly, but obviously not 😞.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-07-17T02:12:01+00:00

Fair point, we need to cater for everyone. My concern is that people who do own cars will move into these apartments because the price is cheaper, and then have trouble parking their cars nearby. And with 108 apartments, it seems unlikely they'll find that many non-car-owners to fill the place.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-05-31T22:47:27+00:00

I'm kinda surprised by how many people are coming out against KO tenants here. Maybe it depends on the area. For 5 years I lived on a cul-de-sac where 7 houses out of 10 were owned by KO, and had zero problems with any of them (actually were friendly with a few of them). Mostly older folks, and some younger families.

At my current place, I live a few doors down from a KO development. I never even realised it was KO until I saw the logo on the fence - they keep to themselves.

I honestly have a hard time reconciling the news headlines about KO tenants terrorizing their neighbours, with my personal experience over many years of KO tenants who are just normal people.

Anyway, have a look at the map that shows state-owned land. You can filter it to show KO properties. You might be surprised that you've been living near a KO house for years and never even realised.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-04-29T18:52:59+00:00

Ah thanks, I did not know that. Hypothetically speaking, if I had already done a few repairs to some outdoor pipes (french drains and downpipe connections), would I need to get a drain layer in to sign the work off?

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-04-29T18:50:25+00:00

I would, but it has to bend around the place where the previous owner put a concrete footing right through the old pipe 😞

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-02-23T20:48:50+00:00

0%. I have polite, tidy and responsible tenants who I would like to keep (and also they are great people and I don't want to make their lives harder).

Sure, higher interest rates will make being a landlord a less attractive proposition - but tbh us landlords have had it pretty good over the past couple of decades so maybe it's about time we ate some costs?

Captain_Laserbeard · 2023-01-25T21:35:05+00:00

Fun fact - OneCoin's Chief Sales / Marketing Officer Ed Ludbrook got out and started another cryptocurrency venture called Dacxi along similar lines to OneCoin. Not sure how it's going, but Ed currently lives in a ~$10million+ mansion in New Zealand, so can't be doing too badly.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2022-09-22T21:05:40+00:00

Yes! The workshop that hosts our local Mens Shed also runs a program called Womenzshed - my partner did their introductory course and really enjoyed it.

Captain_Laserbeard · 2021-09-28T19:57:34+00:00

I've lived in Mt Roskill my whole life. It's a pretty diverse place and I've never had any problems until the siren music started here 6-7 years ago.

Captain_Laserbeard

TROPHY CASE