How to not ruin the canopy on a 1/48

[promethuem5]

Hi all,

I just finished my fisrt 1/48 custom, a weathered and beat up Cannon Fodder... and I ended up making a mess out of the canopy. I couldn't avoid getting some matte varnish on it when I was sealing the pilot name decals so I coated the clear parts with Future afterwards and it fogged up. I then ended up cutting off the part of the nosecone top that holds the hinge.... anyone know how to get that off without having to cut the pegs? Then I sprayed the canopy with gloss varnish and hit it wtih the heat gun to get rid of the fog... and the canopy started to sag and melt, screwing up one edge and the hinge. I blasted it some more to repair the hinge, but actually it still ended up not bent enough so it's tough to open, so I might have to try again. So my question is, how do you customiztion experts handle the clear canopies? I'm a competant modelor, and it bugs me to screw something up like this after managing everything else on the job so well (it's really a gorgeous work... I will try and post up pictures later.)

Ben