I applied this product five years ago, and yes it was a lot of work. Wash, compound, polish, clay-bar, silicone removal spray, and then apply product. It won't improve your car's paint so you want to perform all the preceding steps to insure that what you protect is a quality finish. If you put this over swirl marks, they will still be there when you're done.My process took 10-hours, and I had some applicator error areas that required me to wet-sand the ooops off and reapply. However, when all done, it looks amazing. Nano-silica changes the way light refracts so the finish looks like it has 10 coats of Carnauba wax on it, but wax requires reapplication every three months (less in Florida) and this stuff has stayed just like it was first applied for five years. I do garage my car, and only drive about 5,000 miles per year, but still... 5-years of 9-H protection and super hydrophobic performance without any maintenance other than washing, is fantastic.If you want a quick and easy product, this isn't it. It requires attention to detail, and rewards you with amazing performance. While my finish still looks like new, I'm buying another kit because this time I don't have to compound and polish. I'll clay-bar and remove potential oils and silicone, but that's it before reapplying. the first time took 10-hours, and I estimate this time will take 3-4 hours, but with wax, I spent 60-90 minutes every 60-days. In five years that's 30-45 HOURS of labor saved in 5-years! An entire work-week that I don't have to spend waxing my car.
