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This element consists primarily of general corporate overhead and corporate service department costs, primarily in the areas of technical services, human resources and finance, which are used by the operations. It also includes business development costs.

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Sum of operating profit and nonoperating income (expense) before income taxes.

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Noncash Pension Settlement Charge - before tax

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Segment Reporting Information, Legacy Items

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

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This element represents acquisition-related costs incurred to effect a business combination which costs have been expensed during the period. Such costs include finder's fees; advisory, legal, accounting, valuation, and other professional or consulting fees; general administrative costs, including the costs of maintaining an internal acquisitions department; and may include costs of registering and issuing debt and equity securities.

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The current period expense charged against earnings on long-lived, physical assets not used in production, and which are not intended for resale, to allocate or recognize the cost of such assets over their useful lives; or to record the reduction in book value of an intangible asset over the benefit period of such asset; or to reflect consumption during the period of an asset that is not used in production.

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- Definition

The charge against earnings in the period for known or estimated future costs arising from requirements to perform environmental remediation activities.

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This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized.

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Gain (loss) from sale or disposal of an organization or integrated set of activities (for example, but not limited to, a partnership or corporation) engaged in providing a product or service in a commercial, industrial, or professional environment.

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No definition available.

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Difference between the fair value of payments made and the carrying amount of debt which is extinguished prior to maturity.

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This item represents the entity's proportionate share for the period of the net income (loss) of its investee (such as unconsolidated subsidiaries and joint ventures) to which the equity method of accounting is applied. This item includes income or expense related to stock-based compensation based on the investor's grant of stock to employees of an equity method investee.

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The net amount of operating interest income (expense).

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The net result for the period of deducting operating expenses from operating revenues.

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No definition available.

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Amount of acquisition of long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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No definition available.

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Amount of expenses associated with exit or disposal activities pursuant to an authorized plan. Excludes expenses related to a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

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Total revenue from sale of goods and services rendered during the reporting period, in the normal course of business, reduced by sales returns and allowances, and sales discounts.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Reportable Business Segment Information Reportable Segment Tables (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 3,497	$ 3,789	$ 3,921	$ 3,544	$ 3,552	$ 3,725	$ 3,958	$ 3,531	$ 14,751	$ 14,766	$ 14,791
Segment income									2,409	2,325	2,191
Legacy items									(115)	(51)	(27)
Restructuring Charges									(197)	(140)	0
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt									0	0	(317)
Charges related to transaction related costs									(9)	(44)	(62)
Noncash Pension Settlement Charge - before tax									(968)	0	0
Asset write-down									(27)
Interest expense, net of interest income									(99)	(86)	(137)
Corporate unallocated									(207)	(221)	(256)
Income before income taxes									827	1,783	1,392
Depreciation and amortization									462	471	450
Share of net earnings (loss) of equity affiliates									12	11	101
Segment assets	15,769				17,076				15,769	17,076
Investment in equity affiliates	46				221				46	221	295
Expenditures for property (including business acquisitions)									751	774	2,677
Pretax charges for environmental remediation costs									94	9	144
Performance Coatings Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									8,580	8,765	8,698
Segment income									1,314	1,302	1,205
Depreciation and amortization									272	296	284
Share of net earnings (loss) of equity affiliates									5	7	0
Investment in equity affiliates	30				45				30	45	41
Expenditures for property (including business acquisitions)									187	298	2,374
Industrial Coatings Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									5,691	5,477	5,553
Segment income									1,042	985	951
Depreciation and amortization									143	124	115
Share of net earnings (loss) of equity affiliates									1	0	0
Investment in equity affiliates	13				13				13	13	15
Expenditures for property (including business acquisitions)									510	414	251
Glass Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									481	525	541
Segment income									53	38	35
Depreciation and amortization									22	25	27
Share of net earnings (loss) of equity affiliates									3	7	(3)
Investment in equity affiliates	0				127				0	127	127
Expenditures for property (including business acquisitions)									22	24	33
Consolidation, Eliminations
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									(1)	(1)	(1)
Depreciation and amortization									25	26	24
Share of net earnings (loss) of equity affiliates									3	(3)	104
Investment in equity affiliates	3				36				3	36	112
Expenditures for property (including business acquisitions)									32	38	19
Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									14,751	14,766	14,791
Segment assets	15,769				17,076				15,769	17,076	17,535
Operating Segments [Member] \| Performance Coatings Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									8,580	8,765	8,698
Segment assets	9,168				9,917				9,168	9,917	10,709
Operating Segments [Member] \| Industrial Coatings Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									5,690	5,476	5,552
Segment assets	3,972				3,643				3,972	3,643	3,621
Operating Segments [Member] \| Glass Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									481	525	541
Segment assets	220				557				220	557	531
Operating Segments [Member] \| Consolidation, Eliminations
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Segment assets	2,409				$ 2,959				2,409	2,959	2,674
Intersegment Eliminations [Member] \| Industrial Coatings Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									1	1	1
Intersegment Eliminations [Member] \| Glass Segment
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									0	0	0
Intersegment Eliminations [Member] \| Consolidation, Eliminations
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Net sales									(1)	(1)	(1)
European Fiber Glass
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Noncash Pension Settlement Charge - before tax	$ (46)
Gain (Loss) on disposals									(42)
Other Business Affiliates [Member]
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on disposals									82	$ 0	0
Legacy Chemical Sites [Member] [Domain]
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Pretax charges for environmental remediation costs									$ 82		$ 138