No4 MK1 resurrection

Hey All-
I am new to this forum, but not collecting military rifles. I usually lurk and read a good number of the threads that I find useful for information concerning my rifles. Occaisionally, as now, I find it necessary to ask questions.

Years ago I bought a rifle from a guy that was just most of the metal parts-no wood. I had a new F49 stock set, so I put it in that and scrounged around my parts stuff and came up with the miscellaneous screws, the triggerguard and magazine to have a complete rifle.

There are no marks indicating year of manufacture. Only ones are No4 Mk1 on reciever, England (export mark?) on forward reciever ring, and on the left side of the butt socket is AH18XXC as well on the bolt. The rifle is painted black, so I suppose it went through a depot sometime. The bore is really shiny and bright (a surprise to me). It also has the simplified "flip" rear sight.

My questions are these:Is the AH mark the manufacturer's code? Can the year of manufacture be determined by the S/N? Are there any sources for this infoo on the internet, rather than investing in costly print material?

I know the rifle is not particularly valuable, but I do like these old Brit rifles, and this one is a shooter, as well as a test platform for certain projects I have in mind. It also eases the wear and tear on my super clean LB rifle, too, as far as just taking her out and blasting away a those fascist paper targets.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to learning more about these old rifles here, and hopefully, I will be able to lend some expertise. as well.

Is the paint shiney and of poor quality? Maybe flakeing?

If so it could be an Indian refurb.

bearhunter

Bear hunter-

Thanks for the response. The paint appears to be semi-matte. I has a few deep scratches, but no flaking areas.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I'll check back in a day or two.

The paint is probably Suncorite