Handpan Maintenance: Taking Good Care of Your Instrument

If you are reading this you have probably made the choice to embrace a handpan in your life or are considering it and are now seeking information. Wherever you stand with the handpan now, this tool will inspire, guide and perhaps even challenge you. And because the handpan is so valuable to you, you want to know how to best protect and maintain it so you can enjoy it for years to come.

Proper maintenance is not a burden, but a way to stay connected to your instrument. As you read this blog, you'll learn how to give your hand pan the care it deserves!

1. Protect your hand pan with hand pan oil

Your hand pan has a natural enemy: rust. The best way to prevent this is to oil it regularly. This protects the metal and keeps it sounding beautiful. We do have to say that before Ember steel took the market by storm, rust was a much bigger problem, especially with the nitrated instruments. Now the supplier says that this steel would not rust. We would rather not find out and bravely oil the hand pans every two / three weeks! There will always be situations where erosion can form. With this reason, we do choose to still oil our instruments. But. Honestly, they look really nice when they are oiled anyway. Besides, it is a very loving process if you take your time.

🛑 What NOT to use: Alcohol or other harsh cleaning agents. These can damage the protective coating.

✅ What you DO need to use: Special hand pan oil. This provides a thin protective layer against moisture and dirt.

🛒 Hand pan oil is available in our webshop: HERE

Tip: Always keep a bottle of oil and a microfiber cloth in your bag. Even if you don't have oil with you, the cloth is often enough to keep your hand pan clean and protected.

2. The elements of nature - friend and foe

Nature can bring magical moments, but it can also cause damage. Here are the four elements to watch out for:

🌿 Earth - Putting a hand pan on the ground? Rather not! Grains of sand and pebbles can cause invisible scratches that will affect your pan in the long run.

🔥 S un - Direct sunlight (especially behind glass) can expand the metal and permanently change the tuning of your instrument. Even a professional tuner sometimes can't fix that!

💧 Water - Moisture and hand pans don't mix. Make sure your bag is dry and put it near the heater if it did get wet.

🛒 F or protection from rain, we have a rain cover in the shop! View here.

💨 Humidity - Do you live in a humid environment or near the sea? Then extra oil routine is even more important.

3. Proper storage & transportation

✔ Never store your hand pan damp - Always open your bag after use and let your hand pan breathe, but not too far because you don't want to forget and grab the bag by a handle when you want to move the hand pan at the risk of it subsequently falling out (perhaps speaking from personal experience). Still, are you in a humid environment like the beach or camping? Make sure you grease the handpan with enough oil. Don't have hand pan oil or are you running out of supply? Then order your maintenance oil HERE.

✔ Avoid direct sunlight when storing - Behind a window, the temperature can get so high that your handpan becomes disfigured.

✔ Use a sturdy bag - A good bag will protect your instrument as well as provide convenient pockets for wipes and oil.

✔ Proper Thing (central note) placement - Make sure you put the pan in the bag so that it sits with the thing (central note) in the back of the carrier. Should you fall or something along those lines (we hope not), the least sensitive part would fall to the ground first and then you would fold yourself around the hand pan. But let's assume that doesn't happen

🛒 Check out our Handpan Studio bags here: SHOP

✔ Never put it down upside down - This can detune the 'Thing.

✔ Use a stand or wall hook! - Want to place your handpan safely and beautifully? A stand provides stability and prevents damage. In any case, never put it on the ground; that can cause scratches. Or, if you're really looking for an eye catcher for your home, hang it on the wall! Score HERE your stand and get HERE your wallmount!

4. Use a handpan cord.

The decorative strings you often see around handpans are not only visually appealing, but also very functional. These act as a bumper should you put the handpan bag on the ground too hard or hit something while walking, you will be glad that the handpan had a bumper around it. Don't have one yet? Then order one HERE

5. Play with care and respect

🚫 No jewelry! - Never play with rings, bracelets or watches, nor let friends do so. One wrong (hard) tap with a ring can cause permanent damage.

⚠ Play with feeling - You don't have to hit hard. A hand pan is made to be played lightly. Harsh taps are not only painful to hear, but can eventually damage the instrument. We always say you want to whisper with the handpan.... Let the audience come to you with their attention instead of the overflows of sound!

In conclusion, enjoy!

Your handpan is a handmade work of art, full of sound and soul. By taking good care of it, you ensure that it will continue to inspire you for years to come.

Have fun playing! 🎶