Borrowings (Details) € in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 EUR (€)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 EUR (€)
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Repayments of Debt | $	$ 251		$ 1
Debt Instrument, Face Amount			1,260	€ 1,200
Proceeds from Notes Payable | $			$ 1,240
Notes 1.900 Percent Due 2016 [Member]
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Euro-denominated borrowings hedging a portion of PPG's net investment in European operations		€ 250
Stated interest rate	1.90%	1.90%
Seven-year Fixed Rate Euro Bank Loan Due 2022 [Member]
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount				€ 600
Stated interest rate			0.875%	0.875%
Twelve-year Fixed Rate Euro Bank Loan Due 2027 [Member] [Member]
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount				€ 600
Stated interest rate			1.40%	1.40%