When it comes to painting interior walls, proper preparation is key. A fresh coat of paint always looks better on a smooth, well-prepped surface, and the finished result will last much longer. If the idea of removing old wallpaper feels like too much of a hassle and has been keeping you from updating your walls, you might be relieved to know that you don’t always have to strip the wallpaper to achieve a beautiful paint job. In fact, under the right conditions, you can skip this tedious step altogether.
If taking down the wallpaper would be too expensive or risk damaging the walls, you may be able to leave it in place. However, if the wallpaper is already damaged or has a noticeable texture, painting over it won’t do much to help the appearance and might make things worse. In such cases, the wallpaper should be carefully removed before you start painting. But if the wallpaper is in decent shape, you’re in luck—painting over it might turn out just fine. The type of wallpaper you’re dealing with will also affect your outcome, so take that into consideration as well.
Sometimes, removing wallpaper isn’t as difficult as it seems. For example, if you have peel-and-stick wallpaper, it might actually come off easier than it went on. This type of wallpaper is often advertised as renter-friendly for that very reason. If that’s what you’re dealing with, then grab a corner and start peeling before picking up the paintbrush.
The best-case scenario for painting over wallpaper is if it’s smooth, glued down well, and still adhering tightly to the wall. If that’s your situation, you can probably skip the removal step without any major issues. But if your wallpaper is textured, even sanding it down might not completely hide the texture under layers of paint. In that case, the texture will show through no matter how much paint you apply, so removing it would be your best bet.
One thing to definitely avoid is painting over peeling wallpaper—just like you would avoid painting over peeling paint. If removing it will create more trouble than it’s worth, spend some time regluing the peeling sections before moving forward with your painting project. To avoid making a mistake, always do a spot test first to see how the paint will look over the wallpaper before committing to the entire wall.
