The main thing is technique but the tools you use can contribute as well.
I use a 2 bucket method with a grit guard in the rinse bucket for the paint but the wheels is a single bucket method. For some reason I've never had an issue with wheel finishes.
Start with the wheels but do NOT rinse the whole car first, just one wheel at a time. That's begging for water spots on the paint and the other wheels. Once the wheels are done, move on to the rest. Make sure to throw out the dirty wheel water and thoroughly rinse the bucket. Brake dust is incredibly damaging to automotive finshes.
Now, make sure you rinse the holy piss out of the car. You want to get as much loose dirt off as possible. Then, let whatever's left soak really, really well. Seriously, soak it as long as you can, it'll only help. The more you have to use pressure instead of letting the soap doing it's job, the higher the risk of swirls.
A problem a lot of people have is not using enough soap. Follow the directions on the bottle. And despite what some say, ANY car specific soap will work fine. Do NOT use Dawn unless your'e trying to strip the wax before a polish.
For the actual wash you want something with a LOT of pile so anything removed will get pulled into the pile and not rubbed on the paint. I use Meguiar's now discontinued wash brushes or a real lamb's wool mitt. I prefer the brushes actually. Always use the least amount of pressure necessary to get the crap off the paint. Multiple light passes is better than scrubbing.
A lot of people don't like the California Water Blade but again, if you don't use a lot of pressure the risk is little to none. Until you get the rest down pat, I'd stay away from it. You CAN use something like a leaf blower to get water out of crevices and the majority of the car but you have to be careful not to blow dirt from the ground back onto the car. If you remove your gun and let the water run lightly out of the hose the natural sheeting action will pull most of the water off of the car minimizing the amount of drying you actually need to do.
This tip is HUGE - Only use a GOOD waffle weave towel and make sure you wash it EVERY time you use it or at a minimum when you don't have a clean surface to use anymore. And under no circumstance should you use this town for ANYTHING other than washed panels. That means no jambs, wheel well edges, engine covers, NOTHING.
When you wash this towel or any microfibers only use blue Dawn (yes, it should be the blue, no dyes or fragrances) to wash and then air dry in your dryer, NO DRYER SHEETS. Regular detergent and liquid or dryer sheet softeners will build up on your towels and microfibers making them less absorbent and the fibers stiff, meaning more swirls and scratches.
In between washed never use a quick detailer if there is anything but the slightest build-up of dust on the car. Anything more and you're just grinding it into the paint. Basically, is a CA car Duster can't remove it, you need to wash, not QD.
A basic wash takes me about an hour and a half and that includes making sure I get all the CONSTANT drips from the mirrors, squeezing the water out of the trunk seal (this holds a shit ton of water), and wiping down the door jambs.
No, it's not easy, nor quick, to do it this way and it can be a huge pain in the ass, not to mention expensive, but it's worth it. As I've said, I wash my car 2-3 times a week (it used to be 3-4 before we moved to Germany) and I've not had any issues.
If you have questions, hit me up.
Edit: FWIW, I used this technique on every car I've owned in the last 10 or 12 year to include a Passat I had painted Amber Fire Metallic (early PT Turbo color), another Passat that was two-toned with Murano Green (04 Audi TT A3 color) on top, and an 07 Civic Si that was Nighthawk Black as well as my M and it worked great on all of them.