Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Feb. 28, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Document period end date	Dec. 31, 2012
Amendment flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Period Focus	FY
Current fiscal year end date	--12-31
Entity central index key	0000081362
Entity current reporting status	Yes
Entity filer category	Accelerated Filer
Entity registrant name	Quaker Chemical Corporation
Entity voluntary filers	No
Entity well known seasoned issuer	No
Entity common stock shares outstanding		13,096,116
Entity public float			$ 593,424,846