Equity and Noncontrolling Interest - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Equity Class Of Treasury Stock [Line Items]
Common Stock Par Value	$ 1	$ 1
Common Stock Shares Authorized	30,000,000	30,000,000
Common Stock Shares, Issued	13,307,976	13,277,832
Shares issued for equity based comp plans	20,915
Shares issued for ESPP	4,091
Shares issued for Options exercise and Other activity	4,878
Common Stock Voting Rights	Prior to September 7, 2017, the Company’s Articles of Incorporation included a time-based voting system that granted special ten-for-one-voting rights to shareholders who had beneficially owned their Quaker Chemical Corporation common stock continuously for a period of at least 36 consecutive calendar months (dating from the first day of the first full calendar month on or after the date the holder acquired beneficial ownership of such common stock) before the record date for a shareholder vote. At a meeting of the Company’s shareholders on September 7, 2017, the Company’s shareholders approved an amendment of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation that provides that every holder of Quaker Chemical Corporation common stock will be entitled to one vote for each share of common stock of the Company.
Preferred Stock Shares Authorized	10,000,000
Preferred Stock Par Or Stated Value Per Share	$ 1
Payments For Repurchase Of Common Stock	$ 0	$ 5,859	$ 7,276
2015 Share Repurchase [Member]
Equity Class Of Treasury Stock [Line Items]
Stock Repurchase Program Authorized Amount	$ 100,000	$ 100,000	$ 100,000
Stock Repurchased And Retired During Period Shares	0	83,879	87,386
Payments For Repurchase Of Common Stock	$ 0	$ 5,900	$ 7,300
Cost of Sales [Member]
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Percentage of domestic pension assets	25.00%	25.00%	25.00%
Operating Expense [Member]
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Percentage of domestic pension assets	75.00%	70.00%	70.00%