2005 Mercury Montego after full detail

Len_nA

Len_nA

New member
I just got my 2005 Montego back from my dealership body shop, where the rear bumper had some paint work done. Seems some inconsiderate person at the grocery store decided to bounce a grocery cart of my car, and they chipped the paint right down to the primer.

Since that part of the car had no paint sealant, I decided it was a good excuse to detail my Montego.

Start at 9:00 AM last Saturday, finished around 2 PM. Started with all the glass and cleaned it all, inside and out with Zaino Z-12 Glass Polish (Zaino warning: I use, and recommend, a lot of Zaino products for detailing the car...lol :D ). After the glass was clean, I treated all the exterior glass with Aquapel (info here).

After taking care of a few swirl marks with my Porter Cable polisher and some Zaino Z-PC Swirl remover and a polishing pad, I gave my car two coats/layers of Zaino Z-5 Pro and a layer of Zaino Z-2 Pro. All the grained exterior plastic was treated with Z-16 Perfect Tire Gloss, as were the tires, and the wheels were detailed with Zaino Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Sealer, sprayed on a microfiber pad, and then applied to the wheels. Then all the paint was given a final wipe down with Z-8.

Here's some pics:

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You can see a reflection of my neighbors tree on the drivers side of the hood.

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I got a few good reflections in this shot.

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Some great reflections in this. Tell me again the myth that Zaino has no depth...

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This one, too.

331Montego_Detailing_Project_014.jpg

My ugly mugg in this reflection.
 
Talk about the last mug shot. It should have a disclaimer, "Object may be farther away than it appears." Talk about deeeeep man.

All kidding aside your vehicle looks very good.
 
cwcad said:
Talk about the last mug shot. It should have a disclaimer, "Object may be farther away than it appears." Talk about deeeeep man.

All kidding aside your vehicle looks very good.
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LOL! Thanks!
 
DKKNE said:
Very nice, but your Zaino wax will last about 2 car washes before the protection starts to leave:)
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This is a joke right? lol

Great job on the detail..Cant wait to give my Zaino a try! Love the reflections and depth
 
Car looks great .. .My parents have the same exatct ride ...except in some beige color...

How long have you had it? What do you think of the montego? and what do you think of the new CVT transmission!
 
DKKNE said:
Very nice, but your Zaino wax will last about 2 car washes before the protection starts to leave:)
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That's a load of nonsence. I bought the car a year ago, the Zaino I put on in June of last year was still beading nicely. My wife's Escape is going nine onths to a year with Zaino. Best paint protection I've used, and I've been detailing cars for thirty-two years.
 
Focusedonsound said:
Car looks great .. .My parents have the same exatct ride ...except in some beige color...

How long have you had it? What do you think of the montego? and what do you think of the new CVT transmission!
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I love it. The CVT has been great - smoothest transmission I've ever had. The AWD worked flawlessly this past winter. I can't argue with the gas mileage. 23 to 24 MPG in a 50/50 mix of city and highway driving. Not bad for a full-size car that parks in the space of a mid-size.
 
Great job on the detail, Zaino is great it does a wonderful job. I like the car also and was thinking about getting one next time around. I had a question there were alot of issues around the engine, not problems persay but rather lack of power. I know they were planning on an engine HP increase for the next year but I was curious what you experience has been. For the size and what you get for the price it's great.
 
Stephan said:
Great job on the detail, Zaino is great it does a wonderful job. I like the car also and was thinking about getting one next time around. I had a question there were alot of issues around the engine, not problems persay but rather lack of power. I know they were planning on an engine HP increase for the next year but I was curious what you experience has been. For the size and what you get for the price it's great.
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Stephan, from my experience its not necesarilly a "lack of power" the car does have a lot of get up and go and that motor being used is actually the same motor which is used in the Escape/(whatever the Mercury version is) however from my driving in the car (1 long trip/mostly city driving) of the car it takes some getting use to driving due to the new style of transmission. I know quite a few manufactures are now using CVT transmissions and from what Ive heard with the same feelings. Thats not to say this could be something that would be easily solved with a few more ponies under the hood! (This coming from a guy who drives a Mustang w/ about 260-270 RWHP IMHO everyone should have that much power)

My only gripe w/ the car is the exhaust Its actually loud ...(The guys who have heard my exaust will probably laugh about me complaining about this) But in this type of car its not something you want to hear...its one thing to hear an exhaust on acceleration however the exhaust has kind of a drone to it!

For those that don't know ...The car is essentially a Volvo ... everything about the car is volvo and for anyone thats familer with the exhaust note on a volvo ... thats exactly what it sounds like!
 
Focusedonsound said:
Stephan, from my experience its not necesarilly a "lack of power" the car does have a lot of get up and go and that motor being used is actually the same motor which is used in the Escape/(whatever the Mercury version is) however from my driving in the car (1 long trip/mostly city driving) of the car it takes some getting use to driving due to the new style of transmission. I know quite a few manufactures are now using CVT transmissions and from what Ive heard with the same feelings. Thats not to say this could be something that would be easily solved with a few more ponies under the hood! (This coming from a guy who drives a Mustang w/ about 260-270 RWHP IMHO everyone should have that much power)

My only gripe w/ the car is the exhaust Its actually loud ...(The guys who have heard my exaust will probably laugh about me complaining about this) But in this type of car its not something you want to hear...its one thing to hear an exhaust on acceleration however the exhaust has kind of a drone to it!

For those that don't know ...The car is essentially a Volvo ... everything about the car is volvo and for anyone thats familer with the exhaust note on a volvo ... thats exactly what it sounds like!
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I have a CVT on my Murano so I am kind of use to it. But I had heard the next engine was going to be around 230HP compared to 202 HP which I think is what it has now. I agree its not like your mustang or mine I had a 2002 Mustang GT with some add ons) but I had heard people say it wasn't strong enough. Glad you like it
 
Stephan said:
Great job on the detail, Zaino is great it does a wonderful job. I like the car also and was thinking about getting one next time around. I had a question there were alot of issues around the engine, not problems persay but rather lack of power. I know they were planning on an engine HP increase for the next year but I was curious what you experience has been. For the size and what you get for the price it's great.
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Too much has been made about the engine power. I have had four people in the car, myself included, and a trunk full from a trip to Costco (and I mean a 21 cubic foot trunk FULL), and I had no problems entering I-275 and getting up to 70 MPH. Is it a Mustang Cobra? Hell no, but I have had no problem keeping up with some Taurus SHO's.

The seating position is great - I had a Fusion for two days while the Montego was getting the bumper fixed - I hated being that low to the ground. Handling? Toss up between the two. Like Focusedonsound said, it's a Volvo platform,a nd the big Volvo's handle very well for their size class.

The Zaino has been great, and the best part is, for me as a Detroiter (with a little tiny chip on his shoulder) that people notice the car's finish, check it out and go "That's a Mercury? You're kidding?" I've been stopped by several non-Detroit brand driving car owners and had a slew of questions asked about the car.

Quality had been very good so far - except for maintenance & the bumper's paint chip being fixed, never been back to the dealer. Very solid car. I traded in a Taurus with 125,000 miles on it for this car, so I'm not surprised. I am, so far, very pleased. Do-it-yourself maintenance is fairly easy, too. I don't have to jack up the car to get the drain plug or the oil filer off, either. May be the ground clearance for the all-wheel-drive.
 
Stephan said:
cool well you convinced me....I need an AWD car here in Connecticut and am tired of driving a SUV.
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Go to a Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer and test drive one. I did - three times (LOL). Last time I had my wife and the dealer sales rep with me, it had just snowed (about February or so of 2005) and that's what convinced me. Have the dealer demo how the rear seat folds down and the the front passenger seat folds down. I came home from Lowe's with three eight foot cedar fence posts, and the trunk was closed.

I was actually in the market for a Mountaineer, but the way gas prices are so high, I couldn't do it. Then I checked out the Montego and the Five Hundred (& I like the Montego's perforated leather seats way better - cooler int eh summer), and the test drive sold me.

Test drive one. You'll love it.
 
Stephan said:
Thanks Len...I plan on it...I'm suprised they haven't made a Lincoln version yet
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There's one planned -the Lincoln MKS (pronounced Mark S). Same V-8 as in the Volvo XC-90, six-speed automatic tranny, and lots of high tech goodies. Supposed to go in production in Chicago sometime in 2007. Can't be soon enough. Lincoln needs a good sedan. Lincoln MKS will replace the Town Car and Town Car is canceled as soon as Wixom Assembly Plant closes.


There's some info here: Link and Here and people in the industry that I know say the production version is almost identical except for the top part of the instrument panel and the size of the outside mirrors.
 
Len_A said:
I was actually in the market for a Mountaineer, but the way gas prices are so high,
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I love my Mountaineers, great power especially with mods and V8 is pretty good on gas for an suv. Just sold my 03' but still have my 00'.
 
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