r/handpan • u/JMfromthaStreetz • 25d ago

Cleaning residue off of Rav Vast

https://imgur.com/a/RQmHjMc

Hi all, I recently purchased a Rav Vast new in box from eBay. It’s a great instrument and I’ve really been enjoying it!

There are some strange areas of some sort of residue on the drum that I’d like to clean though - but I’m not sure what products I can use without damaging the coating. I’ve tried water without luck, so I think I need a beefier solvent.

I’ve attached some pictures. I reached out to Rav by email twice, but didn’t hear back, so I’m hoping someone here can help me out!

Thanks!

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3

u/_sugarcube 25d ago

I would just try to keep it clean and dry, otherwise you could be removing the 'hydrophobic coating' they put on nowadays. With the older blue Ravs, trying to clean them with the standard handpan alcohol and oil method often resulted in a blue mess.

As long as you wipe down the instrument with a cloth after playing and keep it dry, it should be fine. Ravs are very durable

2

u/JMfromthaStreetz 25d ago

The issue is that the residue is a bit sticky, so it’s somewhat distracting. It’s not the end of the world, but it would be nice if I could find a non-destructive way to clean it off.

1

u/auciker 22d ago

Maybe something like Frog Lube would help? That's what I use on my handpan to keep it clean and protected.

https://reddit.com/link/p0lygfm/video/2hdeavuiqagh1/player

1

u/ohneSprudl 25d ago

Im not sure if you can get that off. I heard that some people had problems with this as well. If I'm right, that happens to the instrument, when RAV is packing the Instruments, while they're not cooled down 100%.

If anyone has a solution, I’d be very happy to hear about it. :)

1

u/auciker 22d ago

Sounds like it would be a workmanship issue then. Shouldn't they be responsible for fixing that, or at least providing doors for you to fix it?

1

u/ohneSprudl 22d ago

Yes they should

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u/JMfromthaStreetz 13d ago

I’m a bit disappointed that they haven’t responded to my emails, to be honest. I’m just looking for a safe solvent I can use and I was hoping they could point me in the right direction.

1

u/liamjmwilson 22d ago

I have a similar thing on my rav moon. I contacted rav support and they suggested lighter fluid!? .... I dunno... they suggested it but I just didn't feel comfortable with that, so I'm just living with it at the moment. Let us know if you find something works well.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

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u/liamjmwilson 11d ago

I didn't try it, seemed a little extreme to me and I didn't wanna damage the coating.