Preparing a merbau deck for sanding etc

Hi everyone,

We have recently moved into our home, and it has extensive deck areas of varying ages, including some around a pool. According to the previous owner it was treated with a Sikkens product, but to me it appears to me to have a couple of different (incompatible) coatings.

Anyway, I've resigned myself to having to sand the lot back and start again!

Can anyone suggest how far below the surface I should try to countersink the decking screws before sanding?

There is also a section around the pool that has been nailed with a nail gun, and I'm having difficulty finding a suitable nail punch to use with the round head hails.

Any hints/tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. After reading through the forum, I'm now completely torn as to whether to use Decking Oil or Spa N Deck. I had planned on using UltraDeck with the Ultragrip Additive for slip resistance, but it doesn't seem to get much of a mention on the forum.
I'm leaning towards Spa N Deck, but I hate to think I might have to sand it all back again one day.


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