Re-doing a deck: best method to remove junk from it

[searaytuna]

I have restoration project on a 1970 Skipjack. Hull has been stripped & sanded, and now I am getting ready to re-do the deck. It looks like there is Paint(possibly LP) on the original non-skid gelcoat and it's stuck pretty good. I'd like to re gelcoat the whole boat, however, I don't wanna be gelcoating over junk!! What should be the best way to make sure I'll get a nice finish. I guess I can san the LP down to the original gelcoat, just looking for maybe some other ways to do this. ALso, does anyone have any experience gelcoating over an existing LP'ed surface? conpatibility issues? Thanks