Industries

Non-Stick Coatings for Dairy & Cheese Machinery

AST coats and recoats cheese moulds, mould drums, augers, carousels, slicer parts and seal bars with food-grade non-stick coatings: Xylan Thyme Green, Xylan off-white, PFA and PTFE.

We serve dairy plants across Australia and New Zealand, with a typical turnaround of 7–10 working days from receipt of parts and a lifetime workmanship warranty.

Short answer: For cheese machine parts such as moulds, mould drums and augers, AST usually recommends Xylan Thyme Green or Xylan off-white. Both are thin, food-grade release films. Slicer parts, seal bars, gates and hoppers often suit PFA or PTFE. All four systems are food-grade, and the supplier letters we hold cite US FDA 21 CFR 175.300. Worn parts are stripped back to metal and recoated, typically in 7–10 working days, so the work fits a planned shutdown.

The problems a coating solves in dairy and cheese plants

Product sticking

Cheese curd and mozzarella build up on augers, drums and moulds, slowing the line and wasting product.

Long clean-downs

Bare or worn metal holds residue, so every washdown takes longer.

Poor mould release

Blocks tear or stick in the mould when the old coating wears through.

Washdown chemicals

Daily cleaning wears coatings over time. The system has to suit your cleaning regime.

Which coating suits which part

This is where we usually start. We confirm the system after we see the part and hear how it runs.

Part	Recommended system	Why
Cheese moulds and mould drums	Xylan Thyme Green or Xylan off-white	Thin release film that does not change mould dimensions
Augers and screws	Xylan Thyme Green or Xylan off-white	Release for sticky curd; product side coated
Carousels, housings and manifolds	Xylan Thyme Green or Xylan off-white	Same release film across the machine set
Slicer blades, magazines and guide bars	PFA	Harder-wearing food-grade film for cutting and sliding contact
Seal bars and sealing jaws	PTFE (or PFA)	Thin non-stick film so packaging film releases at seal heat
Gates, hoppers and chutes	PTFE or PFA	Product flows and cleans off; PFA where wear is higher
Parts needing a white finish	Xylan off-white (grade confirmed at quote)	White fluoropolymer non-stick film for product contact

Xylan Thyme Green and Xylan off-white

Whitford/PPG fluoropolymer non-stick films. Thyme Green goes on at about 20–40 µm, so it releases without changing a mould's dimensions. Off-white gives a white finish for sites that want one. See our Xylan coating services.

Chemours Teflon™ PFA and PTFE

PTFE is a thin non-stick film, about 20–35 µm. PFA is the harder-wearing choice for parts that see more contact. Both are rated to 260 °C in service. See PFA coating and Teflon coating services.

Food contact and compliance

Xylan Thyme Green, Xylan off-white, PFA and PTFE are food-grade systems. The supplier food-contact letters we hold cite US FDA 21 CFR 175.300.
Food compliance depends on correct application and full cure, which we control and record.
Our Chemours Teflon™ coatings are made without PFOA. Our IChEMS Letter of Conformity is available on request.
AST does not use Halar or Tefzel for direct food contact. They are chemical-barrier linings for process plant, not product-contact surfaces.

For more detail, read our guide to food-grade coating and FDA compliance.

Planning recoats around your shutdown

Most dairy recoating is planned around shutdowns. Turnaround is typically 7–10 working days from receipt of parts. Tell us your shutdown dates early so we can book the work in, and send a spare set ahead where you have one.

Every recoat is a full strip and recoat. We burn off the old coating, grit blast the part back to clean metal and apply a new coating from the primer up. We never lay a new coat over a worn one, because it does not bond well and can peel.

Typical dairy and cheese parts we coat

Cheese moulds and mould drum halves

Augers, screws and screw elevators

Carousels and finger manifolds

Mozzarella machine parts and housings

Slicer blades, magazines and guide bars

Seal bars, seal plates and gusset guides

Gates, hoppers and chutes

Film bars and heating plates

How we coat a dairy part

1
Inspect and mask
We check the part on arrival and mask faces, bores and threads that must stay bare.
2
Burn off
Old coating and residue are burnt off in our burn-off oven. New parts go through the same step to clean the metal.
3
Grit blast
The part is blasted back to clean, rough metal so the new coating bonds.
4
Apply and cure
We spray the primer and topcoat and cure each to the supplier’s schedule.
5
Check and pack
We measure film thickness, inspect the finish and pack the parts for freight back to your site.

Before you send a part: a quick check

Heat: the part must take cure temperatures of about 360–415 °C, depending on the system. Remove seals, plastics, bearings and electronics.
Sealed parts: closed drums or welded-shut sections need a small vent hole (about 3 mm), or trapped air expands in the oven.
Bare areas: mark faces, bores and threads that must stay uncoated on the drawing.
Hang point: parts coated all over are hung in the oven and keep a small uncoated mark at the hang point. Nominate a spot if it matters.
Size: parts up to 7 m × 3 m × 3 m fit our ovens. Longer parts up to 8 m can load diagonally.
Duty: tell us the product, cleaning chemicals and temperatures the part sees.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best coating for cheese machinery?

For most cheese machine parts, such as moulds, mould drums, augers and carousels, we recommend Xylan Thyme Green or Xylan off-white. Both are thin, food-grade release films. For slicer parts, seal bars and parts that see more wear or heat, we look at PFA or PTFE instead. We confirm the choice after we review the part and the duty.

Are these coatings food safe?

Yes, when they are applied and cured correctly. Xylan Thyme Green, Xylan off-white, PFA and PTFE are all food-grade systems. The supplier food-contact letters we hold cite US FDA 21 CFR 175.300. Our Chemours Teflon™ coatings are made without PFOA.

What is the difference between Xylan Thyme Green and Xylan off-white?

Both are Whitford/PPG fluoropolymer non-stick films for release duty. The main difference is colour. Choose off-white if your site wants a white finish on product-contact surfaces. Otherwise the choice is yours. We confirm the current off-white grade with PPG when we quote.

Is Xylan the same as Teflon?

No. Teflon™ is the Chemours brand for coatings such as PTFE and PFA. Xylan is a separate family of dry-film coatings made by Whitford, now part of PPG. AST applies both, so we can recommend whichever suits the part.

Can you recoat our parts during a shutdown?

Yes. Turnaround is typically 7–10 working days from when we receive the parts. Much of our dairy work is planned around shutdowns, so tell us your shutdown dates early and we will book the work in. If you have a spare set, coating it ahead of the shutdown cuts the time the line is down.

Can you put a fresh coat over the old one?

No. A cured non-stick coating does not bond well to a new coat laid over it. We burn off the old coating, grit blast the part back to clean metal and apply a new coating from the primer up.

Will the coating stand up to our washdown chemicals?

Tell us the cleaning chemicals, their strength and the temperature they run at. We check them against the supplier data for the system before we recommend it.

Why not Halar or Tefzel for dairy equipment?

AST does not use Halar or Tefzel for direct food contact. They are thick chemical-barrier linings for process and chemical plant. For product-contact parts in dairy and cheese plants we use Xylan, PFA or PTFE.

How large a part can you coat?

Our ovens take parts up to 7 m long, 3 m high and 3 m wide. Longer parts up to 8 m can be loaded diagonally.

Do you work with dairy plants outside Victoria?

Yes. We coat parts for dairy and food plants across Australia and New Zealand. Parts are freighted to us, coated and sent back.

Only Chemours-licensed industrial fluoropolymer applicator in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia

Yearly technical and quality audits by Chemours Global

Lifetime warranty on workmanship

Planning a shutdown or fighting sticking product?

Send us the part list, photos or drawings and your shutdown dates. We will recommend the right coating and quote it.