Acquisitions - Other details (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 28, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 30, 2011	Sep. 28, 2012 Liquid Finishing	Sep. 30, 2011 Liquid Finishing	Sep. 28, 2012 Liquid Finishing	Sep. 28, 2012 Liquid Finishing	Sep. 30, 2011 Liquid Finishing	Sep. 28, 2012 Powder Finishing	Dec. 30, 2011 ITW Finishing Group	Sep. 28, 2012 ITW Finishing Group	Sep. 28, 2012 Powder Finishing	Sep. 30, 2011 Powder Finishing
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition transaction costs	$ 15,000,000		$ 15,000,000		$ 8,000,000
Sales of Acquired Businesses in Previous Year												375,000,000
Cash Paid To Acquire Businesses													660,000,000
Investment Income, Dividend	4,000,000		8,000,000
Business Acquisition Cost Of Acquired Entity Cash To Be Paid													8,000,000
Investment in businesses held separate	426,813,000		426,813,000		0
Operating Results [Line Items]
Net Sales	256,472,000	227,347,000	758,778,000	679,689,000		69,554,000	67,443,000		206,061,000	195,635,000	62,000,000			30,000,000	38,000,000
Operating Earnings	$ 56,331,000	$ 56,802,000	$ 166,775,000	$ 172,126,000		$ 15,379,000	$ 13,072,000	$ 28,000,000	$ 40,314,000	$ 36,923,000	$ 4,100,000