Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Details)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) mi	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) entity	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrual for environmental loss contingencies		$ 2,800,000	$ 3,200,000	$ 2,900,000	$ 5,000,000
Aggregate environmental accruals included in current other accrued liabilities		900,000	1,400,000
Amount which is better estimate within range		0	0
Remediation accrual balance if accrued at high end of the range of possible outcomes		16,000,000	16,000,000
Environmental remediation spending charged to reserve balance		500,000	800,000
Operating costs relating to environmental compliance		9,900,000	10,100,000
Omega Chemical Corporation Superfund Site, Whittier | California
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrual for environmental loss contingencies		$ 600,000	600,000
Contribution to waste tonnage (as a percent)		1.07%
Lower Passaic River
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of entities, in addition to Hexcel, who received a directive from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection | entity		51
Portion of the river for which Record of Decision setting forth the EPA's selected remedy (in miles) | mi	8
Portion of upper miles of river for which EPA not yet selected remedy | mi	9
Accrual for environmental loss contingencies		$ 2,000,000	$ 2,100,000
Lower Passaic River | Minimum
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected cost of capping and dredging of the lower eight miles of the river by EPA	$ 970,000,000
Lower Passaic River | Maximum
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Expected cost of capping and dredging of the lower eight miles of the river by EPA	$ 2,070,000,000