Using thickness planer to remove old finish?

My deck's finish is old and very poor. About 20% of the pressure treated deck boards have end rot while the rest of each board is healthy. My first step was to thoroughly pressure wash to remove all loose finsh. My plan is to remove the boards, cut off any rot, strip, fill nail holes with Bondo wood filler, apply new finish, return and screw in place. I found belt sanding would quickly remove finish but raised significant fuzz and fine spliinters, orbital sanding after belt sanding removed virtually all fuzz and splinters. I tried using my thickness planer removing maybe 1/16 inch of thickness and all of the old finish. It goes quickly but requires some orbital sanding to knock off some raised chips. Are cutting off end rot and thickness planing reasonable strategies? Any downsides? Any additional steps recommended? Applying finish first before screwing (this approach is because it's winter here in MN now and I would apply finish in my basement)?