I recently acquired something of a ‘Rescue-Dog’ Hang - a Hang that has seen better days. It’s certainly in need of a visit to a tuner, something that to some degree the price I paid for it reflected, but additionally, this Hang, was suffering from a fairly nasty case of rusting.
People within the HandPan community use a wide variety of measures, and substances, to help prevent the onset of rust to their HandPan (oils, and such), and there are products such as the ‘Miracle Cloth’, that are easily capable of removing rust should you catch it early enough. But, personally I’ve found that, should the rust be a little further developed, many (most?) of these solutions won’t remove the worst of it.
So, should you have left your Hang in storage with the bag done up tight for too long (never a good idea), or you’ve bought a questionable HandPan second-hand, and the rust is a little more severe than is treatable through other methods. You might consider using this tip that I first heard of from Daniel Waples (well known Hang musician), ‘0000 grade steel wire wool, and olive oil’.
As far as I can tell from my own experience, the olive oil is not an essential part of the remedy, but is more Daniels product of choice. But the 0000 grade wire wool, combined with a little WD-40, performed a treat. Buffed in a circular fashion with a little pressure applied, the rust began to vanish as if under an eraser. And after just ten minutes, this previously very sorry looking Hang, was almost, looking as good as new (if not sounding it). Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to take 'before and after' pictures, so you’ll have to take my word for it about the results. But should you find your HandPan to be in a similar condition, you might also find this solution to be worth a try.
People within the HandPan community use a wide variety of measures, and substances, to help prevent the onset of rust to their HandPan (oils, and such), and there are products such as the ‘Miracle Cloth’, that are easily capable of removing rust should you catch it early enough. But, personally I’ve found that, should the rust be a little further developed, many (most?) of these solutions won’t remove the worst of it.
So, should you have left your Hang in storage with the bag done up tight for too long (never a good idea), or you’ve bought a questionable HandPan second-hand, and the rust is a little more severe than is treatable through other methods. You might consider using this tip that I first heard of from Daniel Waples (well known Hang musician), ‘0000 grade steel wire wool, and olive oil’.
As far as I can tell from my own experience, the olive oil is not an essential part of the remedy, but is more Daniels product of choice. But the 0000 grade wire wool, combined with a little WD-40, performed a treat. Buffed in a circular fashion with a little pressure applied, the rust began to vanish as if under an eraser. And after just ten minutes, this previously very sorry looking Hang, was almost, looking as good as new (if not sounding it). Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to take 'before and after' pictures, so you’ll have to take my word for it about the results. But should you find your HandPan to be in a similar condition, you might also find this solution to be worth a try.
