A good precast is custom made for your pool. It should be 3 1/2 inches thick comes in different reliefs and colors and different types of finishes such as acid, smooth and travertine. There is precast coping that is not as thick or as custom that you can buy right off the shelf. That could be the reason for the same pricing as the flag stone. You should have your builder check into doing poured in place coping. It should be cheaper than the precast but more than the flagstone. It will give you the same look as the precast.

I took some pictures of the coping areas in question and have posted them below. Gosh, it took me forever to figure out how to post again... thanks to some instructions I found in an old post.... I finally have it figured out. Anyway, do you think I am overreacting about this, also, does anyone know if this can be corrected on the surface? First couple of pictures show the one area that is the worst in my opinion and it is right at the shallow end where the steps are. The last couple of pictures are at the deep end, and although I notice it, it doesn't seem to be as pronounced. Can you see the little racoon foot prints? I think I had a visitor the other night. Hope he doesn't decide to go swimming anytime soon.... the water looks like a swamp at the moment... They started forming the deck today (I was at work and my husband had them stop because there have been additional trenches dug by the plumber and by the electricians, and with all of the rain, we want to pool guy to re-grade it. Besides, the paint marks had washed off, and when I came home from lunch, there was one area that was formed incorrectly. I am meeting both the concrete guy and the builder here in the morning to walk back through the deck pour & of course, I will show the builder the coping to see what he says.

The pavers are rough on top and most likely you cannot get the concrete stain out. A metal wire brush is not a good idea as some of the bristles may come off and remain on the stones, leaving a rust mark. A heavy nylon brush is the best. Try contacting the paving manufacturer for a type of cleaner. They may have a solution or recommendation.

I'm not a fan of any stamped concrete. It fades over time, the color is not throughout the mix so if it gets chipped, you'll see the concrete underneath. Looks too fake to me. Just my opinion. Because your budget conscious, I would pour a concrete deck. Use a nice coping stone to dress it up. The pool is rectangle so a consideration for long coping stones in a natural material such as Limestone or Bluestone. That would be tread material 12" wide and various lengths and most stone yards stock that.