have you thought about a vinyl wrap? dont think you would have to pull the windshield that way.My friend did his old truck that way and it looked like new paint.

Vinyl wrap is real slippery and I honestly want to get a custom windshield made so i Have easier access to the bow.

i hope you don't plan on walking on the dash, I don't think they were built with the idea of being walked on.

I dont walk on it but I do stand on it to get onto the bow.

I'm in the same boat, thinking of peeling the old black sticky back off and doing new black vinyl

My '84 LS had the sticky stuff but my '87SS was gelcoat.

Personally, I would not paint it. The surface will see shoes and other abrasives (even if you have a no shoes rule, it's bound to happen), and will eventually look like crap. If it were me doing this, I would take it all out, and have a 'glass person reshoot the gelcoat in whatever color you like.

I like the charcoal idea. I think it would make it very rich looking.

Unless your boat is in project mode right now, I'd leave this to after the season. Removing the dash means pretty much taking a majority of the cockpit apart.

if you've been to any boat shows recently, formula's are getting away from the all white dash and going back to the grey almost charcoal metallic