My black 2010 is a scratch magnet! I am going to try the Meguiars Swirl X. I do my own washes and waxes. The dealer must have run my car through the car wash when I had it in to have pin stripe (that they put on it) removed. They put the pin stripe on it without asking when it was new! Dealers suck!
The blue is dark enough that it's a high maintenance color like black. Silver would hide everything the best. However, if you're leasing, go with what you like the best and don't worry about scratches/swirl marks. They do not penalize you for swirl marks.
Sorry to hear that..... If the scratch is so deep that metal is showing you'll probably want to pick up some appropriate thinner or reducer for the touchup paint. It'll let you fill in the scratch more gradually so it's level with the surface-not forming the "bump" that the thickened touchup paint is likely to do. A good 0000 or 000 sable paintbrush would help as well, along with a steady hand. For safety use a good quality mask as close as possible to the edges of the scratch in case the brush slips or drips onto an adjoining area, causing a bigger problem (experience speaking here..) Depending on where the scratch is, and your tolerance, you might be able to do a passable job, but metallics and pearls are very difficult to touch up by brush and look decent afterward. Small nicks or chips respond best-scratches are hard.Also remember that there's a clear coat over your paint as well. You may also want to pick up a vial of clear as well, to overcoat and help blend in the work. You might wish to check out this site: Dr.ColorChip Custom Automotive Touch-Up Paint Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems I've seen some pretty good results from this process. Here are the kits for your color: HTML: http://tinyurl.com/2723abr Not inexpensive at $40-60USD, but still cheaper than a body shop. Good Luck!
Don't rule out your own techniques/products. Just because you wash the car yourself doesn't mean you're not scratching it if you're using the wrong techniques/products. Lastly, you're going to get some swirl marks with black no matter how careful you are, even with the correct techniques/products. That's why you use a good sealant with some filling properties like Zaino Z-5 Pro.
I have tried the Meguiars Swirl X and it has made a great difference, dramatically more helpful than the various other options I tried. I think if I put the time in I could get out nearly all of the scratching. I still find the car scratches incredibly easy....
When I got my car, they had a cheaper black prius with less features. I didn't care so much about the features, but the black i knew would show severe scratches. So I was forced to buy the silver one instead and pay up more $$$ in features to have a silver color.
