used Mosin Nagant; serial # covered?; how to remove FleckStone finish in small area?

[kmrcstintn]

I bought a used Mosin Nagant from a friend; he 'customized' it with a camo FleckStone paint job (stock, receiver, barrel); he did a good job and I don't want to ruin it; what he 'thought' was a serial number that is found on the bolt, buttplate, and magazine floorplate is the original arsenal number...the one on the receiver is covered up

I have a few ???'s

1) if I ever go to sell it later on, can I use the arsenal number as a serial number?

2) if arsenal number won't suffice, where would I most likely find the importer assigned serial number?

3) how can I remove FleckStone in a small selected area without having to strip the entire finish?

4) overall, what needs to be done to keep the gun 'legal' without completely ruining the custom job my firend did?

BTW: the paint is so thick that anything on the receiver cannot be viewed...he obviously wanted lots of protection from the elements...

 

[mp510]

On many Mosins, especially those with Cyrillic characters in the serial number, the weapons were renumbered by the importer. Is this weapon renumbered? If this weapon was renumbered is that serial number still present?