The heratbreak of micro-scratches

Greeting! I just bought a 2002 jet black (clear coat) Pathfinder, washed it once myself, and took it to a car wash once, only to be mortified at seeing swirls marks and light scratches all over the hood!!! They are very slight, you can only see them under subdued light (I noticed them in my garage at night, and there is no way you could feel any of them at all). I've read most of the messages dealing with this but still have some questions for the experts. 1.) What is the mostly likely cause of this and how do you prevent it!!!! I washed the car and used new terry cloth towels etc, but can't be sure that my washing mitt was completely clean (I haven't used it for a long time). Do car washes (even cloth only) do this? 2.) Do you try to fix them by buffing etc, or just "cover" them up? IE, the cars only three weeks old, is the cure worse then the disease? I've already tried Turtle wax clear coat polish, and got rid of about 90% of them, but I'm sure they will be back after the polish washes off. I've read about Meguirs #7, P21S and 3M swirl remover, but I'm afraid to do anything else until I get more expert advice.Thanks!!!!

check your wash mitt and make sure it is 100% cotton.(no rayon,wool or synthetics). if you aren't sure,toss it in the garbage or save it for your wheels. check into the chenille,sheepskin or micro-fiber mits. a bad mitt can do a lot of webbing and scratching. terry cloth towels are ok, but i prefer the watersprite chamois or you can use the more readily available absorber brand synthetic chamois. car washes can and do scratch depending on the condition of the vehicles that have gone through before you(farmer john's muddy pick-up etc.) and the speed of the brushes/machine. also, the types of chemicals in the wash can have an effect on scratching. don't attempt to buff this early on becasue they are not serious scratches.(high speed buffing leaves more scratches and swirls and it takes a pro or someone with some expereince to get these out) try a cleaner like meguiars scratch-x, body scrub,or any of the body shop polishes or cleaners. mother also offers pre-cleaners and scratch removers. finish up with a good sealant or wax.the swirl remover should work by hand. use light pressure. #7 probably won't work for you, it will only hide them for a day or two. p21s offers wax and pre-cleaner, but the pre-cleaner probably is not strong enough to remove the scratches. you will always have the small webs and scratches unless you park your truck in the garage and never drive or touch it.

I hate it when that happens! I highly reccomend 3 m imperial hand glaze.
this product will remove most anything you cannot feel. I use the machine glaze to do my corrective action then apply wax,but if i have time or i am doing my car i use the hand glaze. I am presently trying a product called farcle that a dealer turned me on to. it comes from europe and i like it very much because it can be used by hand or machine. good luck with your scratches! mike at the shine shop

Thanks for the info guys! I called the dealer, and he lectured me on the proper use of washing this car etc etc (all the same good advice I've received from this site), and suggested that I let them detail it, but he couldn't tell me if they would actually get the scratches out our just cover them up. I then talked to the owner of an autobody shop, and he felt that the swirls were probably due to the dealer getting the car ready to sell!! He also mentioned that all of the petroleum based products, like Meguirs, 3M etc would only hide the marks for maybe up to 3 weeks (about the same time I started to notice them after I bought the car). So I guess a follow up question is what is the best 'cover up" product to use? I've got one vote for 3M hand glaze, and at least one vote against Meguirs #7 (will only last about 3 days). Thanks!