Commitments and Contingent Liabilities (Additional Information) (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended											3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2000 Plaintiff	Dec. 31, 1999 cases	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2010 LegalMatter	Jan. 28, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member]	Sep. 30, 2006 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Jersey City Manufacturing Plant [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Administrative Content Order 1990 ACO [Member] Location	Sep. 30, 2008 Orphan Sites Settlement [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Orphan Sites Settlement [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Judicial Consent Order [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Environmental Contingencies [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Environmental Contingencies [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Calcasieu River And Two Chemicals Plants [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 New Jersey Remediation Sites [Member] ton	Sep. 30, 2011 New Jersey Remediation Sites [Member] ton	Mar. 31, 2013 Unfinished Environmental Remediation [Member] Administrative Content Order 1990 ACO [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Unfinished Environmental Remediation [Member] Orphan Sites Settlement [Member] Location	Sep. 30, 2008 Unfinished Environmental Remediation [Member] Orphan Sites Settlement [Member] Location	Sep. 30, 2008 Partially Liable Environmental Remediation [Member] Orphan Sites Settlement [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Finished Environmental Remediation [Member] Administrative Content Order 1990 ACO [Member] Location	Mar. 31, 2013 Future Period [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Charges [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Charges [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Asbestos Issue [Member] LegalMatter	Dec. 31, 2012 Asbestos Issue [Member]	Dec. 31, 2008 Asbestos Issue [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Asbestos Issue [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Soil Treatment, Transportation And Disposal Of Excavated Soil [Member] New Jersey Remediation Sites [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Construction Services (Related To Soil Excavation, Groundwater Management And Site Security) [Member] New Jersey Remediation Sites [Member]	Mar. 31, 2000 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member]	Jan. 31, 2009 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member] Asbestos Issue [Member]	May 14, 2002 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member] Asbestos Issue [Member]	Jul. 17, 2012 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member] Asbestos Issue [Member] Third Amendment [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation [Member] Asbestos Issue [Member] Third Amendment [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Commodity Chemicals Segment [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Settlement Agreement, Consideration				$ 6,000,000
Private putative class cases filed						30
PPG percent ownership interest																																						50.00%
Number of pending cases																															114,000
After-tax charge, write-off of investment in PC, related to PC filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy																																					35,000,000
Number of days after effective date of a confirmed reorganization plan																																					30 days
Number of days after second amended reorganization plan																																								30 days
Agreement to convey assets to the PC asbestos settlement trust (the "Trust"), shares of PPG common stock																																							1,388,889	1,388,889
Future PPG cash payments to the Trust																																							825,000,000	998,000,000
Future PPG cash payments to the Trust, prepayment discount rate																																							5.50%	5.50%
Future PPG legal fees and expenses on behalf of the Trust																																								30,000,000
Fixed payment schedule, period																																								21 years
Fixed payment schedule, effective date																																								2003-06-30
Future cash payments to the Trust by PPG's participating historical insurance carriers																																							1,700,000,000	1,700,000,000
Future cash payments to the Trust by PPG's participating historical insurance carriers, prepayment discount rate																																							5.50%	5.50%
Third amendment plan last filing date																																									August 20, 2012
Hearing date for the plan																																									Oct. 10, 2012
Period of funding effective date																																										30 days
Percentage of premises claims currently comprised of the total of asbestos related claims against PPG																																		2.00%
Claims alleging personal injury caused by asbestos on PPG premises, approximate number of claims settled																															500
Claims alleging personal injury caused by asbestos on PPG premises, approximate number of claims being considered for potential settlement																															350
Reduction in cash obligation to the Trust, corresponding increase in reserve for PPG claims responsibility																																	162,000,000
PPG's reserve for asbestos-related claims that will not be channeled to the Trust																															162,000,000	162,000,000
PC-related claims at trial that PPG was found not responsible		2
Number of plaintiffs one jury found PPG, for the first time, partly responsible for injuries	5
Reserves for environmental contingencies			297,000,000		332,000,000			201,000,000			221,000,000							96,000,000	80,000,000	31,000,000	256,000,000
Percentage of the total remaining reserve																																			55.00%	30.00%
Reserves for environmental contingencies classified as current liabilities			96,000,000		101,000,000
Environmental remediation costs			12,000,000	159,000,000				159,000,000	145,000,000	165,000,000																			13,000,000	160,000,000													1,000,000
Cash outlays related to environmental remediation			23,000,000	13,000,000
Liability for Asbestos and Environmental Claims, Net, Period Increase (Decrease)					3,000,000
Historical Environmental Remediation Expense Lower Limit			10,000,000
Historical Environmental Remediation Expense Upper Limit			25,000,000
Expected cash payments for environmental remediation costs for remaining fiscal year			80,000,000
Expectations of cash outlays for environmental remediation costs through 2014																												100,000,000
Expectations of cash outlays for environmental remediation costs, low estimate annually 2015 and 2016																												10,000,000
Expectations of cash outlays for environmental remediation costs, high estimate annually 2015 and 2016																												30,000,000
Disposal group, including discontinued operations, environmental contingencies					31,000,000		31,000,000
Total number of sites to be remediated														61	53		20						14	6	6	10	47
PPG agrees to reimburse the NJDEP for a portion of past costs															5,000,000
Judicial Consent Order combining ACO and Orphan Sites Settlement, reparation claim payable to the City of Jersey City																	1,500,000
Payment time period																	5 years
Soil that may be potentially impacted for all remaining sites (in tons)																					1,000,000	70,000
Time Period for Final Resolution of New Jersey Chrome Site Legal Matters												3 years	2 years
Unreserved loss contingencies related to environmental matters, low estimate			100,000,000
Unreserved loss contingencies related to environmental matters, high estimate			235,000,000
Number of sites																3
Reserve for product warranties			13,000,000		14,000,000
Outstanding letters of credit			132,000,000
Guarantees			$ 82,000,000