They're definitely a pain top get off. not hard, but annoying and tedious. once you figure out the angle and tools for each of the 4 top down bolts, it moves faster. for me, it was frustrating and time consuming, but once you get a method down for each bolt, it goes faster. i probably spent a little over an hour total getting them off, but a lot of that was getting back up off the ground to get tools from the garage. the combo of box end wrench, and a socket/wrench with different extensions does work though. going back on was much faster.
i scuffed mine up very well with a sanding sponge and painted them with high temperature paint, but it started flaking within a few weeks. it was more of a trial to see if i liked how they looked and will be taking them back off to get powder-coated soon. this was one of the few mods that non-car guys at work commented on and complimented. I will say that even scuffed up, the brushed steel/aluminum look was more desirable than the stock chrome. at least to me.