The first coat just goes on that way. a second (or third) coat will coat over any swirls or streaks. You want a lint free cloth to put this on, and thin multiple coats is the way to go. Try to put it on with as uniform a wipe as you can, dont change direction or do swirls. I went a section of cladding at a time and waited the 10 mins and wiped off then put on additional coats until it looked "right" then moved on to the next section. A little goes a loong way. I have had it on mine for almost seven months and it still shines up nicely. Invest in a few hours putting this on and do it right, and you'll just need to treat your cladding once or twice a year (depending on weather conditions/how hard you ride her) instead of every other month like most of the other stuff (back to black, tire shine, clear coat wax, ICE)