The white finish that comes on the fuselage is a paint primer, not a gel coat. If you use paint stripper on the canopy, you will remove the paint and the primer, and be left w/ just raw fiberglass with a ton of pinholes. I know this because I did the same thing w/ an Eclipse canopy and it ended up in the trash can. Had to order a new one. If I stripped one again, it would be all sandpaper. Not fun.
Never had a problem w/ the Central rod fittings, but I always glue a short piece (3/4 ") of aluminum tube on the outside of the carbon rod to keep any side loads from splitting the rod. This also keeps a constant pressure on the fitting to keep in locked inside the carbon tube.