Financial Instruments, Hedging Activities and Fair Value Measurements (Additional Information) (Details) € in Billions	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 EUR (€)
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Line Items]
Shares of PPG stock that are to be contributed to the asbestos settlement trust | shares	2,777,778
Total principal amount payable for PPG shares contributed to the asbestos settlement	$ 62,000,000
Fair value of the equity forward arrangement to mitigate the impact of changes in fair value of stock contributed to the asbestos settlement trust	259,000,000	$ 223,000,000
Fair value of foreign currency forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges, net asset	29,000,000	44,000,000
Notional amount	560,000,000
Fair value of nine U.S. dollar to euro cross currency swap contracts	36,000,000	41,000,000
Debt Instrument, Face Amount			$ 1,260,000,000	€ 1.2
Fair Value of Debt Instrument Designated as a Hedge of Net Investment in Foreign Operations	2,100,000,000	2,000,000,000
Accumulated pretax unrealized translation gains (losses) in AOCI, related to both the euro-denominated borrowings and the cross currency swaps that have been designated as hedges of net investments	(232,000,000)	(349,000,000)
Capital Lease Obligations	30,000,000	30,000,000
Short-term Debt	34,000,000	29,000,000
Long-term Debt	4,200,000,000	4,265,000,000
Long-lived assets fair value amount	4,423,000,000	4,367,000,000
Significant Fair Value Adjustments on Other Assets (Liabilities) Carried at Fair Value		0
Settlement Date 15 March 2018
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Line Items]
Notional amount	560,000,000
Net Investment Hedging [Member]
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Line Items]
Euro-denominated borrowings hedging a portion of PPG's net investment in European operations	$ 1,900,000,000	$ 1,900,000,000