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Proper Handpan Care Info

Rust

For handpans made of Raw steel, Nitrided steel or Stainless steel, you will have to lubricate regularly or your instrument may/will rust. The best lubricant I have found for this is FrogLube liquid. I HIGHLY recommend you get a bottle of this as it will last you a while and is great stuff –  just about 6 drops on each side will do the trick, then gently massage the lube into the steel – NOT TOO HARD – make sure you have completely coated the instrument. I suggest you do this at minimum once a month! if you are playing often or every day you may want to do this 2 times a month or even once a week as salts and oils on our hands can accelerate rusting. ALSO if you live in a humid area or by the beach you may also want to regularly froglube your pan. If your pan is made of Raw steel you must be extra vigilant about lubricating your instrument.

If your pan is made of PC steel – you NEVER need to lubricate your instrument, so don’t do it.

KEEP IT OUT OF THE SUN!!!!

Yes of course you can play it outside in the daylight hours however try to keep it out of direct sunlight as the sun will heat the steel and will cause it to go out of tune (possibly permanently until it is retuned). also playing a pan that is extremely hot from the sun isn’t particularly comfortable on your hands (it can get as hot as a frying pan) – so keep out of direct sunlight as much as possible.

Light Playing

Handpans are meant to be played lightly. Hard strikes (even from your fingers) can cause a tonefield to go out of tune; Therefore NEVER use anything other than your hands, or hands with soft gloves on, to play the pan.

Do not paint your handpan

I know it may be tempting (and you can if you really want to) but adding anything onto your instrument will absolutely alter its sound, and most likely not for the better.

DON’T DROP IT

A pan that takes a bad fall could be the end of it. If you should ever damage your pan in the future send me a video and I will let you know if it can be repaired – SO –  keep you pan stored in a safe place not too high up.

Do not store you instrument in a bag or case for
extended periods of time (days to weeks)

when traveling either around town or abroad with your instrument it will spend a reasonable amount of time in its dedicated case, however, when not actually traveling with the instrument its best to keep it out of its case or bag as moister can get trapped in the bag an instigate corrosion. You can also as an additional preventative measure put a silica packet (moister eater packs) in the bag or case. Just keep in mind that those packs do need to be replaced regularly or they may instigate corrosion if they are moist.

If your instrument is made with PC steel

take care to not damage the finish otherwise your instrument may be in danger of rusting. For instance we don’t recommend you bring a PC steel instrument to the beach as the sand can scratch the finish.

Tuning

All handpans will eventually go out of tune, just like a piano or a guitar, and need to be retuned. All Nirvana Handpans come with one FREE retune that I recommend customers use between 1-2 years from receiving their instrument. After that retunes usually cost around 50-150 depending on the amount of work that needs to be done. These retunes are based on normal wear and play of the instrument – if the instrument ever is damaged I would have to asses the amount of work that needs to be done in order to determine the cost of the repair. Keep in mind playing too hard WILL send it out of tune faster than soft playing.

And MOST important…

ENJOY IT!!!

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