You can, but removal is usually better. Paint can soften wallpaper paste, show seams and make future removal much harder. If paper must stay, it has to be firmly bonded, with seams and edges secured, and sealed with a primer listed for wall coverings before paint.
Water-based paint wets the paper and can soften its paste, causing bubbles and lifting seams. Paint also seals the paper, so later removal is much harder because water can no longer reach the paste. Wallcovering manufacturers take the same view for new paper: York's hanging instructions say old wallpaper should be removed before new wallcovering goes up.
When the paper is tightly bonded everywhere, with no loose seams, bubbles or lifting edges, and removal would damage fragile walls such as old plaster. Even then, seams are glued down and skimmed so they do not show through paint.
One listed for wall coverings. Benjamin Moore lists its Fresh Start High-Hiding All Purpose Primer for wall coverings as well as drywall and wood, and its alkyd Fresh Start Undercoater as a sealer and stain-blocking primer, which keeps water in latex paint from reaching the paper and blocks pattern or adhesive bleed.
Loose seams and edges are glued down, then lightly skimmed with joint compound, sanded and primed so seam lines do not telegraph through paint. Strong side light makes seams visible; the Gypsum Association's GA-214 links smoother finishes to severe lighting.
In homes built before 1978, wallpaper may have been painted over with lead-based paint at some point, or layered over painted plaster. Disturbing more than 6 square feet of painted surface per room in paid work falls under the EPA lead rule, with containment and cleaning verification.
Strippable papers often peel off dry; York's removal directions for its SureStrip papers are to loosen a top corner and pull each strip slowly downward, moistening it with a sponge if it resists. Non-strippable papers are scored, soaked and scraped. Paste residue is washed off and the wall primed before painting. See wallpaper removal.
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It can work if the paper is tightly bonded with no loose seams, but removal is usually the better choice. Paint can soften paste, show seams and make future removal harder. If painting over is necessary, glue down seams and edges, skim seam lines, and prime with a primer listed for wall coverings such as Benjamin Moore Fresh Start 046.
One listed for wall coverings. Benjamin Moore lists its Fresh Start High-Hiding All Purpose Primer for wall coverings, and its alkyd Fresh Start Undercoater as a sealer and stain-blocking primer. A sealing primer limits how much water from latex paint reaches the paper.
It can. Water in latex paint can soften wallpaper paste, causing bubbles and lifting seams, especially on older or poorly bonded paper. Priming first with a sealing primer and gluing down loose areas reduces the risk, but removal avoids it.
Usually much harder, because paint keeps water from reaching the paste. The paper is scored and soaked longer, and drywall face paper is more likely to tear, which then needs sealing and skimming. That added work is a main reason to remove wallpaper before painting.
Sources: York Wallcoverings SureStrip hanging instructions; Benjamin Moore Fresh Start High-Hiding All Purpose Primer (046) technical data sheet; Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Undercoater and Primer/Sealer (032) technical data sheet; Gypsum Association GA-214, Recommended Levels of Gypsum Board Finish; EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart E. Figures checked October 2026.
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