Income Taxes and Uncertain Tax Positions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective Income Tax Rate, Continuing Operations	31.10%	26.80%
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Interest on Income Taxes Expense	$ 0.1	$ 0.1
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Interest on Income Taxes Accrued	2.2			$ 2.3
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Income Tax Penalties Accrued	3.3			3.1
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Income Tax Penalties Expense	0.1	0.1
Unrecognized Tax Benefits Reductions Resulting From Lapse Of Applicable Statute Of Limitations	0.8	$ 0.1
Significant Change In Unrecognized Tax Benefits Is Reasonably Possible [Line Items]
Decrease In Unrecognized Tax Benefits Is Reasonably Possible	2.4			0.1
Unrecognized Tax Benefits	$ 19.0
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination			2016
U.S. Tax Reform	As previously disclosed in its 2019 Form 10-K, the Company had a deferred tax liability of $8.2 million, which primarily represents the Company’s estimate of non-U.S. taxes it will incur to repatriate certain foreign earnings to the U.S. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company made certain adjustments to the deferred tax liability to take into account a tax law change enacted in the quarter in a certain foreign jurisdiction, the inclusion of other earnings to be repatriated, and the actual repatriation of earnings, resulting in a deferred tax liability of $7.4 million as of March 31, 2020.
Effect Of Tax Rate Change	50.00%	30.00%
Other Information Pertaining To Income Taxes	On March 27, 2020, in response to COVID-19 and its detrimental impact to the global economy, the CARES Act was enacted into law, providing a stimulus to the U.S. economy in the form of various individual and business assistance programs as well as temporary changes to existing tax law. Among the changes include a postponement of certain tax payments, deferral of the employer’s portion of the social security tax and certain other payroll-related incentives, and an increase in the interest expense limitation under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code from 30% to 50% for the 2019 and 2020 tax years. ASC 740 requires the tax effects of changes in tax laws or rates to be recorded in the period of enactment. Under the CARES Act, the Company has the option to use its 2019 adjusted taxable income in determining its interest expense limitation under Section 163(j). While the Company is still considering whether to make this election for 2020, the current quarter tax provision takes into account this potential election and associated tax benefit, which offsets an increase to the Company’s foreign tax credit valuation allowance recognized during the current quarter primarily driven by changes in current year projected taxable income due to the negative impacts from COVID-19. In addition, the Company reviewed its existing deferred tax assets in light of COVID-19 and determined that, at this time, no change in valuation allowance is required except with regard to its foreign tax credits as noted above. While the ultimate impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s results of operations is still uncertain, the Company will continue to assess future changes in projected taxable income to determine if they result in additional changes to any of the Company’s valuation allowances.
UnrecognizedTaxBenefitsReserve	$ 5.4
ValuationAllowanceAmountRelatedToBusinessCombination	5.4
Deferred Tax Liabilities	$ 7.4			$ 8.2
The Netherlands [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2014
United Kingdom [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2014
Brazil [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2000
Spain [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2015
China [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2009
Italy [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2006
Income Tax Examination Description	As previously reported, the Italian tax authorities have assessed additional tax due from the Company’s subsidiary, Quaker Italia S.r.l., relating to the tax years 2007 through 2013. The Company has filed for competent authority relief from these assessments under the Mutual Agreement Procedures (“MAP”) of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development for all years except 2007. During the second quarter of 2018, the Italian tax authorities assessed additional tax due from Quaker Italia, S.r.l., relating to the tax years 2014 and 2015. The Company met with the Italian tax authorities in the fourth quarter of 2018 to discuss these assessments and no resolution was agreed upon, so the Company filed an appeal with the first level of tax court in Italy. If the appeal is not successful in materially reducing the assessed tax, then the Company will further evaluate its options including potentially filing for competent authority relief from these assessments under MAP, consistent with the Company’s previous filings for 2008 through 2013. As of March 31, 2020, the Company believes it has adequate reserves for uncertain tax positions with respect to these and all other audits.Houghton Italia, S.r.l is also currently involved in a corporate income tax audit with the Italian tax authorities covering tax years 2014 through 2018.
India [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2018
Mexico [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2015
Canada [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2010
Germany [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2015
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2016
State and Local Jurisdiction [Member]
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination Year Under Examination	2010