Try the Zinsser "BIN" product. It comes in a spray can, so you don't have to by a quart/gallon. It's shellac-based and is the best stain killer. Shellac is alcohol based - use several light coats and shake/stir well to get the maximum pigment.

Zinnsser "Bin" won't work just because it is a shellac based product.

Shellac uses denatured alcohol as its base. This is the same base that is used for indelible marker.

If you use BIN, you'll just have marker making its way through the primer.

Use an oil based primer by either Zinnser, Kilz or other manufactuers.

Next time simply remove the indelible marker using denatured alcohol on a rag prior to painting. It will wipe right off.

Letting the oil based primer cure between coats will also help.

way, Way back - when I was slappin' paint to help scrape by, I could literally knock out & spackle a bleeding mark faster than anything else.
We'd put a piece of clear tape over the marker, bang on it with the handle of a 5 in 1 & lift the tape off - this will take off most of the paint, some of the dywall paper and leave a very shallow divot - which is snap to spackle, spot prime & roll. This also works on that old tape that won't come off the wall.

So either my boss was nuts (hey, he was drunk only 1/2 the day) having us do this or painters have a short cut.

Is there a paint that allows you to write on it repeatedly with marker and subsequently erase? I've seem this done with "blackboard" paint, but does it exist for "whiteboard"?

High end whiteboards are enamel baked on metal, less expansive are the malamine coated wood product boards.
Paint films have to many defects to reliably work as white boards.

there is actually a 'wallcovering' which is applied like wallpaper which works like a 'whiteboard'....our office has an entire wall in the conference room done this way (but it isn't paint!)

Carolyn

One brand is called 'Walltalkers'. Installs like wallcovering and is a dry erase board.