Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2012	Oct. 02, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q/A
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	RPM International Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this amended Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A because we determined that the consolidated financial statements contained in the Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended August 31, 2012 and filed October 4, 2012 (“Original Form 10-Q”) should no longer be relied upon due to an error in the timing of the disclosure and accrual of certain loss reserves. These loss reserves were associated with our settlement of the previously disclosed General Services Administration (“GSA”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) investigation into compliance issues related to GSA contracts at our Tremco Roofing Division (also referred to herein as our Building Solutions Group Roofing Division) (the “GSA matter”). As a result of the error, the estimated loss contingency for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 was understated by $11.4 million, producing an overstatement of net income of $7.2 million for the three months ended August 31, 2012. At the same time, our estimated loss contingency was understated by $16.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2013, and overstated by $28.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. As such, we are also restating our financial statements for the three and six month periods ending November 30, 2012, and the three month period ended February 28, 2013 to address the error. After the restatement of the first and second quarters of fiscal 2013, the resulting charge in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 of $40.5 million was due to the application of a “multiplier” negotiated between the DOJ and the Company. The error did not impact the results for the nine months ended February 28, 2013 or the fiscal year ended May 31, 2013. The error was identified as a result of an investigation by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”), with the assistance of independent advisors, into the timing of our third quarter of fiscal 2013 disclosure and accrual related to the GSA matter. The Audit Committee determined that the accounting errors described above did not result from intentional misconduct. The GSA matter is also the subject of a formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company is cooperating with the SEC in its ongoing investigation.The Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved a restatement of the Company’s financial statements for the three month period ended August 31, 2012, by filing an amendment to the Original Form 10-Q. The error, including the specific line item on each of the Company’s financial statements that were restated, is described in greater detail in Note A1 contained in this Form 10-Q/A.The Company believes the restatement reflects a material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and that its disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of August 31, 2012 and November 30, 2012. The Company’s controls did not operate as designed to prevent material misstatements, due to unique factors that were only associated with the GSA matter. The Company has concluded that the unique factors related to the GSA matter contributed to a break-down in communications, resulting in the material weakness. Based on developments that occurred during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 and the resulting disclosure of and accrual for the GSA matter, the material weakness no longer exists as of February 28, 2013.
Document Period End Date	Aug. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	RPM
Entity Registrant Name	RPM INTERNATIONAL INC/DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000110621
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--05-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		132,290,362