diff --git a/man/picom.1.asciidoc b/man/picom.1.asciidoc
index 7f370091..f4a53d03 100644
--- a/man/picom.1.asciidoc
+++ b/man/picom.1.asciidoc
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ OPTIONS
 	Use EWMH '_NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW' to determine currently focused window, rather than listening to 'FocusIn'/'FocusOut' event. Might have more accuracy, provided that the WM supports it.
 
 *--unredir-if-possible*::
-	Unredirect all windows if a full-screen opaque window is detected, to maximize performance for full-screen windows. Known to cause flickering when redirecting/unredirecting windows. *--paint-on-overlay* may make the flickering less obvious.
+	Unredirect all windows if a full-screen opaque window is detected, to maximize performance for full-screen windows. Known to cause flickering when redirecting/unredirecting windows.
 
 *--unredir-if-possible-delay* 'MILLISECONDS'::
 	Delay before unredirecting the window, in milliseconds. Defaults to 0.
diff --git a/picom.sample.conf b/picom.sample.conf
index f2b45121..eba24d10 100644
--- a/picom.sample.conf
+++ b/picom.sample.conf
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ refresh-rate = 0
 
 # Unredirect all windows if a full-screen opaque window is detected, 
 # to maximize performance for full-screen windows. Known to cause flickering 
-# when redirecting/unredirecting windows. paint-on-overlay may make the flickering less obvious.
+# when redirecting/unredirecting windows.
 #
 # unredir-if-possible = false
 
diff --git a/src/config_libconfig.c b/src/config_libconfig.c
index 044a5115..534d55ef 100644
--- a/src/config_libconfig.c
+++ b/src/config_libconfig.c
@@ -594,9 +594,11 @@ char *parse_config_libconfig(options_t *opt, const char *config_file, bool *shad
 	if (lcfg_lookup_bool(&cfg, "clear-shadow", &bval))
 		log_warn("\"clear-shadow\" is removed as an option, and is always"
 		         " enabled now. Consider removing it from your config file");
-	if (lcfg_lookup_bool(&cfg, "paint-on-overlay", &bval))
-		log_warn("\"paint-on-overlay\" has been removed as an option, and "
-		         "is enabled whenever possible");
+	if (lcfg_lookup_bool(&cfg, "paint-on-overlay", &bval)) {
+		log_error("\"paint-on-overlay\" has been removed as an option, and "
+		          "the feature is enabled whenever possible");
+		goto err;
+	}
 
 	if (config_lookup_float(&cfg, "alpha-step", &dval)) {
 		log_error("\"alpha-step\" has been removed, compton now tries to make use"
diff --git a/src/options.c b/src/options.c
index 1a1b4eb9..154978ff 100644
--- a/src/options.c
+++ b/src/options.c
@@ -650,9 +650,9 @@ bool get_cfg(options_t *opt, int argc, char *const *argv, bool shadow_enable,
 			return false;
 		case 272: log_warn("use of --dbe is deprecated"); break;
 		case 273:
-			log_warn("--paint-on-overlay has been removed, and is enabled "
-			         "when possible");
-			break;
+			log_error("--paint-on-overlay has been removed, the feature is enabled "
+			         "whenever possible");
+			return false;
 		P_CASEBOOL(274, sw_opti);
 		case 275:
 			// --vsync-aggressive