As long as you don't tip it over when you pull it out, no mess
First couple of cleanings I slopped a bit till I got my angle of attack down
It's real nice being able to just pop the hood to take a peek at that screen.
Like this last trip. When I put my fresh engine in after the truck sat 8 + months, the front tank got critters in it. Luckily, that screen caught them all and set off the main fuel filter light , a quick stop and clean and switch to the rear tank
and it was clean, so I ran on it the whole way. Didn't have to change the filter. it's still fine ( and a steady diet of biocide has run through the system , I thought I had hit it before storage, but oops)