Gascolators and/or the pic up screen are no comparison to the AFP filter. Perhaps the AFP folks who cruise this forum can chime in, but the AFP filter is extremely fine and has a huge surface area. The pic up tube is very course in comparison and most gascolator filters have very little surface area for filtering and are designed so if they plug up, they still will pass fuel with no filtering.
I disconnect the fuel hose at the Servo, hit the boost pump until the fuel in the line is expelled, you can hear the pump when it starts to go dry. You might spill a drop or two, but very little fuel spills in the cabin from my experience.
As always, my two cents.