Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2013	Oct. 01, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Aug. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	MASC
Entity Registrant Name	MATERIAL SCIENCES CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000755003
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-28
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		10,322,055