Chosen Solution
I tried to remove the hinge plastic on my A1495, so I can tighten the screws under the plastic, but with my metal pliers it would not want to come off when I tried prying from the left. Eventually, after using enough force, it just cracked from about 1/6th the way in (as shown in the picture below)
I am unsure what I did wrong, it just would not move after a certain point, and the very few tutorials showing this didn’t show what to try if that happens. Thankfully, no actual hardware was yet broken so I can just buy a new hinge plastic from eBay.
Apple loves making this harder then they need to be to make the system repairable! So we often need to take other things off to get to the part, which is the case here! Here’s the guide to take the display off MacBook Air 11" Mid 2013 Display Assembly Replacement Now with the display in front of you it’s now possible to slide the clutch cover off sliding it slightly to the side so the catches clear into the slots, then pulling downwards. Maybe it would help getting the replacement to see things MacBook Air 11" Clutch Cover (13-15) But… I think you damaged the antenna unit as well here MacBook Air 11" Hinge - Left/w iSight Cable & Antenna
