My readers have submitted many different ideas and tips to me that relate
to whiteboards. This is a list of the most useful ones.
I read on numerous pages to just use a sock to erase stuff because it
tends to scratch less than paper towels or miscellaneous things you find. I
just use small hand towels that were sold as "work rags" that were quite
cheap and very fluffy.
You can use Vis-A-Vis overhead markers or wet erase markers on
whiteboards, if you want a slightly more permanent type of mark. For
D&D, you could draw walls with Vis-A-Vis markers, and people with
dry erase markers. Move people by just erasing them. Redo the walls
with a damp cloth (sock?) and dry the board before drawing more.
Test first! When you get a new dry erase board, try marking it in a
corner. If that comes off, use several colors in that corner and see if
they all come off. Try Vis-A-Vis. When all done with those tests, try a
long-term test by marking the corner with each marker and waiting a day or
maybe a week. Wipe and see if the markers stained the board.
If you do want to permanently mark your board, Sharpie permanent markers
may not do the trick. The dry erase marker will act like a solvent and you
might end up wiping away your lines. You can damage the board with a tiny
scratch from a knife point, and that will turn black because the whiteboard
marker flecks will get stuck in there and your eraser won't be able to clean
inside. A deep enough scratch will expose the cardboard backing, and that
will get black in a hurry. Also, you can use paint, but make the line as
thin as possible. Paint won't let markers wipe off, so the lines will
eventually turn black.
Because dry erase markers act as a solvent, you can sometimes remove Sharpie
permanent marker marks by just drawing over them with a dry erase marker
and then wiping them both away. In my tests, you might need to use the dry
erase marker a few times before you get the surface clean, but it often
will get rid of the permanent marker.