Proper way to resurface a pool

I bought a house with a pool recently, and we are getting some rust coming up from underneath and since we will need to resurface in the next 2-3 years we are doing it now.

We have a contractor that our local pool shop swears by, and when he was over talking the price sounded right.

But then he mentioned that they will not remove all of the old plaster, what they will do is remove 4-5 inches around the tile light, drains, and all fixtures, then walk through the pool chipping every 8 inches. They said they would tap with a hammer while doing this and if nothing sound hollow they will not remove the plaster. If there is a hollow sound or in a spot where rust is visible they will pull it up to the gunite.

He offered another bid to remove everything if I wanted piece of mind.

So should he be removing all the plaster? Once again the pool store here (all good guys) swear by him but I would think you would want to remove all the old plaster..

What do you guys think?

This will be adding a quartz plaster with a 10 year manufactor warranty (if we keep chemical records)

The guy doing the work is bonded and insured and warranties his work for a year.

Well, I'm no expert but I had mine resurfaced 11-12 years ago and that is exactly what they did. Like you, I expected them to remove ALL of the plaster but was assured that would be a mistake. Excellent job I think given that I got at least 12 years before any major issues, and they told me to expect 7-9 years!

Best of luck.