Quick question for anybody:
I wash with a cotton chenille sponge, but i find when they are dry, they give off tons of lint! I'll smack it and lint flies everywhere. Can this lint create swirls when washing? I mean, they're only cotton fiber, but just to be safe.

Oh, and I've never owned a car that had such pathetic clear coat. I treat her like a queen and the surface is still slightly swirled.

 

It may not be the cotton lint itself making swirls...but if your wash sponge isn't picking up dirt, and just pushing it around, that might lead to swirls. You might be better served by a real sheepskin wash mitt.

 

sheepskin "unloads" (releases dirt particles) better than sponges, imo-
i gave up sponges many years ago for exactly the reason that you are complaing about- swirls.
i dont have swirl problems (at least not from washing) anymore since i have used the sheepskins-

if you use a sponge, use a chenile (?) covered one... better yet- give it up for sheepskin!

 

The swirls could also be coming from your drying methods. Check out some of the threads which talk about how to dry your car. Also, of course the swirls won't just go away. If you want those swirls gone you'll need to read up on polishing as well.

I know you think you are treating your car like a queen, but I think it's likely that you need to refine your methods. It's like my golf pro says "you can practice all you want, but if all you do is practice a bad swing then you'll end up with a bad swing." In wash & wax wacko terms I guess that would translate to "you can wash your car all you want, but if you use bad technique and/or tools you'll just end up with a swirled car."