How to sand and oil a deck with raised nails?

[cotterrrr]

My front deck has what appear to be dome head ring shank nails - they sit above the timber and can’t be punched down. I would love to sand and oil the deck but I am a bit at a loss of how to work around this. Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

  

[EricL]

Hello @cotterrrr 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your deck. 

Generally, I would suggest using a floor sander to strip the surface of your deck. But because of the dome head nails this is not possible as the sandpaper will get snagged onto the head of the nail and tear itself apart. It's still possible to sand the surface of your deck, but it will take a little bit more time and effort. I propose a two-person sanding team, one person will be using a belt sander to do all the wide spaces between the nails, the other person will be using a detail sander and sanding around the nail heads. If it is done section by section, it will not seem so daunting.   

Here is a link to our best advice: How do you stain a weathered deck?

Here are some handy step-by-step guides:

• How to maintain a deck
   
• How to sand a deck 
   
• How to stain a deck

In regards on what oil and stain to use, I suggest visiting your local store and going to the paint department so that you can see on the stain sample boards what the product looks like once it is applied to timber. 

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric