Dolphin Glaze is the best glaze available today.
It will completely change how you do filler and Bondo work. Making your repairs feel 100x better.
By the end of this dolphin glaze review, I promise you that it will become your most used Bondo.
I use it every day in the trade and I couldn’t be happier with it.
You can buy it from Amazon or any good auto store.
The Main Properties Of Dolphin Glaze
There are many different selling points that dolphin glaze has, I’ll cover them all in this review but here is the one’s U-Pol list.
Excellent Adhesion – Old school techs will always tell you to sand back to bare metal. But, U-Pol says dolphin sticks so well that it can be applied over keyed paint.
This helps to minimize paint edges and makes it quicker and easier to repair minor damage.
Pinhole Resistant – The days of letting the painters deal with pinholes and scratches are gone.
Dolphin glaze is “pinhole resistant” and will help to fill any pinholes and minor scratches before sending it to paint.
Self-leveling – Depending on how good you are at applying filler, this could be a very helpful feature.
The self-leveling capabilities limit the size of your edges and any tram lines in your fill.
Easy To Sand – Dolphin is designed to be rubbed with 120-320 grit sandpaper. So it has to be easy to sand, otherwise, it’d take forever.
The fact it’s self-leveling also helps a lot, as you’ll not have to spend time rubbing down high edges or lines.
When To Use Dolphin Glaze
There are 3 different scenarios where you’ll use Dolphin Glaze.
When repairing cars, you want to use as little body filler as possible.
The best technicians can metal finish repairs but sometimes even they need filler.
Dolphin is great for those repairs that you’ve already gotten to 90-95%.
Despite its “self-leveling properties” it can fill minor dents and lows.
If you’ve got as close as possible to a metal finish, a skim of dolphin on top could be enough to finish the repair.
The same goes for minor repairs.
Small creases, dings, and scratches are quickly repaired with a coat of dolphin glaze.
Secondly.
When doing big repairs and using traditional filler you’re left with imperfections.
Putting a light skim of dolphin glaze on top of your repair will get rid of the imperfections.
It’s really easy to rub so using 180-320 will break it down quickly and leave it feeling amazing.
The painters will love you for this; it only takes 10-20 minutes.
Finally.
Dolphin glaze is great to mix with other fillers.
Whether it’s polyester bumper filler, deep fill products, or even metal filler.
Mixing dolphin glaze into other fillers will help to thin out the filler and make it easier to spread.
This is something I’ve seen many technicians do regularly.
It also helps to minimize the number of imperfections in the filler you’re mixing it with.
As you use the product, you’ll find various uses for it.
Those are the main ways that I use dolphin glaze when repairing cars.
Applying Dolphin
Dolphin Glaze comes in a plastic packet, along with a small plastic sachet of hardener.
The mixing ratio is 1-3% depending on temperature.
Dolphin is a very thin Bondo and comes out of the packet like syrup.
This makes it super easy to apply, but can also run a lot in hotter conditions.
It gets absolutely everywhere during the summer!
You can apply dolphin glaze to:
- Bare Steel
- Aluminum
- Galvanized Steel
- OEM Paint
- Polyester Body Filler
- GRP
U-Pol, say to prep bare steel with P80 paper and any other material with P180.
It will stick to anything as long as you prep the material properly by cleaning, sanding, and cleaning again.
Rubbing Dolphin
After application, the glaze should turn to gel within 5-8 minutes and be ready to sand within 15-20.
U-Pol recommends sanding with 180-240 grit.
Depending on how much glaze I apply, I’ll use anywhere between P80-320 paper.
I’ve also seen myself using a DA sander to take the top off and make rubbing by hand much quicker.
The maximum fill depth is 2mm. You’re not going to spend time rubbing 2mm of glaze with 180-240grit paper.
As long as you work your way through the grits, you’ll have a smooth finish with zero imperfections.
Cost
Click here to check the current price of dolphin glaze on amazon.com
Most, if not all body fillers and Bondo have gone up in price.
The price will vary depending on where you’re buying it from and any trade deals you may get.
As a DIYer, you’re looking at around £10 or $15-20.
The longevity of this filler depends on the type of fills you’re doing.
If you pull the metal out as much as possible, use a body filler, and then glaze it’ll last forever.
However, if you’re using it for decent size fills and mixing it with everything, you’ll go through a lot of it.
I can’t really fault the price.
400 ML does go a long way and is cheap to buy.
You don’t have to buy huge tubs of the thing and commit to $100+ worth of filler.
Dolphin Glaze Alternatives
There are very few competing products when writing this dolphin glaze review.
The main alternatives are Evercoat metal glaze and Evercoat polyester glaze.
Metal glaze is the most similar one.
However, Evercoat Polyester glaze offers something that dolphin glaze doesn’t.
Polyester/plastic filler is much more flexible.
When applying dolphin glaze to bumpers, it’s very likely to crack under tension or when flexed.
This is why I no longer use glaze on bumpers unless I mix it with plastic filler.
Sometimes when you mix dolphin glaze and plastic filler, you can’t get it thin enough for a light skim.
Having a thin pre-mixed plastic/polyester glaze would definitely come in handy.
Either way, you’re going to need two products. A plastic filler to mix with glaze, or a polyester glaze.
I also like dolphin one fill.
This is a type of hybrid body filler that has all the qualities of dolphin glaze but offers a deeper fill.
It can be applied over the exact same materials as dolphin glaze and again, is pinhole resistant.
The only difference is that it’s slightly thicker and has a maximum fill depth of 3-5mm.
Unfortunately, the place I work for doesn’t store this filler, but I’ve used it enough to know it’s a great product.
Still, considering other body filler options? Read my article about the best car body fillers. It’s a list compiled of what I believe to be 7 of the best glazes, Bondo, and body filler products.