Thread: Raised dome head nails on deck

Hi - Not sure if I am in the right forum, but here goes.

I have a deck that desperately needs to be repainted. Trouble is, I think they have previously used an acrylic finish that is just all peeling off. To make matters worse they have used dome head nails which will make it impossible to sand with a belt sander. Should I punch these down below the surface of the deck thus making the whole point of the dome head useless or is there another way to sand the deck ??