so my car got keyed a little while ago and the rear quarter panel, passenger door, and hood was refinished

I noticed even claying with sonus green will mar the paint, then after polishing it to swirl free, just a light wash put light swirls on the paint

is it because the shop used cheap materials which caused the clear coat to be so soft?

 

I noticed my jet black roof when repainted would scratch just from looking at it. I think the factory bake on is just tougher. I did find it did seem to "harden up" after quite a few months. Also, the scratches were easy to get out with a light polish. I found Amigo to work really well on the soft paint.
Good filling/hiding properties and quick.

 

Paint hardness is not always synonymous with cheap paint. Body shops tend to err on the harder side of paint because the way paint hardness is determined is how much hardener is put in. Put too much or too little and it never cures. Imagine not properly mixing equal parts of epoxy glue together. It's similar with mixing paint.

If your washing process is swirling the paint, I would look at your techniques. Start by evaluating everything that comes into contact with your paint. The quality of the mitt, the proper soap ratio, the type of soap, how you are wetting/soaping/rinsing the paint, how you dry the paint. There are many potential places to swirl your paint. Usually on ultra soft paint, you will see marring after the drying process. If that's true, then consider switching to drying the car without rubbing it. Use the sheeting method to reduce the water on the paint, then blot dry. Use an Absorber towel instead. Use distilled water and don't dry it at all.

Richard