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Swirl marks are an eventuality of ownership- the degree to which you have them is directly related to wash protocol/general care.
The worst thing you can do, IMO, is have anybody other than yourself wash the car with a rag. How many times have you seen a lot person drop a towel or sponge, pick it right back up, and keep working? Embedded debris causes the micro-marring and can actually penetrate the clear in worst case scenarios.
Some tricks to keep away from swirls are precisely covered above. I wouldn't paint a hood just b/c of swirls or else you'll have a hood that is more prone to chipping. A good detailer can remove any swirl as long as the clear isn't penetrated. Dealerships are the worst offenders at wiping down cars...they'll wipe off a dirty car with a wet rag in a heartbeat and this is mayhem to a paintjob.
Here's how I keep my cars swirl-free:
1. Never, ever wipe it off with a damp rag.
2. Never, ever let anybody else touch it (dealership visits get the "NO WASH" tag)
3. Only use a CLEAN sponge with a bucket that has a grit guard.
4. Never use a CA Waterblade or Car Duster.
5. Rinse the car w/ DI water so I don't have to towel dry it.
Twice a year (getting better at swirl avoidance so may go down to once/yr) I'll SMR the cars with a porter cable ROB (daily drivers: mine and the wife's) and go thru the Zaino process. After each weekly wash, I let the cars drip-dry and then I'll Z8 them in the morning. May sound a little fanatical, but really doesn't take much time at all and the cars always look like I've spent a weekend detailing them.
Granted, I live in San Diego where the last bug that hit the front end was about 4 months ago, we have no pollen to worry about, but the freeway debris is near murder (ran over 2 sliding glass doors, got hit by a trailer receiver hitch, just missed 2 Lazy Boys on sep occasions, and just had a golf ball come from nowhere and bounce 6' in front of me going 70...lovely) and Zaino can't help much there.
Hope this helps- would be happy to delineate zaino application protocol if you're interested.
~John
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