Sorry I'm late to this thread, but regarding the windshield, you can try giving it a dip in a clear acrylic as a final step.  That will fill the fine scratches that remain and that still give the plastic a bit of a clouded look.  You may have heard others mention this technique with clear parts, like aircraft windshields and canopies.  I use Future acrylic floor coating, myself, but there are clear media made by hobby suppliers, for modelers, too.

As far as stripping paint goes, I use the automotive de-greaser SuperClean.  Its active ingredient is lye, just like most oven cleaners (eg, Easy-Off) or grill cleaners, but it's not nearly as caustic as those products.  And the big advantage is that you can use a batch over and over, whereas oven cleaners in rattle-cans are once-and-done.  I use glass jars of various sizes, filled with SuperClean, to soak pieces.  It softens paint almost immediately, which dissolves into the solution.  Depending on the piece, a soak of 5 minutes or so is sufficient to soften and remove paint, to the point where a rinse under the tab and some gentle scrubbing with an old toothbrush will remove the rest.  Also, I have used it to spot-remove paint on pieces that I messed up-like a figure's face-but which I didn't want to strip completely and start over.  I just used an old paintbrush to put the liquid where I wanted it.