For various customers, I have removed a lot of roll marked "made in Italy" and cartridge inscriptions/designations by peening the displaced metal back into the groove, filing, smoothing with emery. Very time consuming, but much better than just removing metal. The key is the judicious use of a light hammer like a gravers hammer and a selection of punches ground to a slight convex and mirror polished. You gently "push'' the displaced metal from the roll marking back into the divot from whence it came. Draw filing must be done with sharp files, well and frequently chalked. For final emery work, it is hard to beat the quality of the fingernail emery boards found at beauty supply stores...very good quality. Blending blueing or browning is the hard part to approximate the original finish. Several pre war gunsmith how to books describe this method in detail.
Sounds like your method is the method I’d like best. But I’ve never worried about factory lettering.
I bought a 700 Classic 300 H&H. I was pleased with the purchase until I removed the action. Someone deeply engraved, in true Bubba style, his Minnesota Hunter ID number which seemed quite long to me. If it could have been repaired economically I’d have kept it. But I returned the rifle and was giving the previous owner the feeling that this matter was an urgent matter on my part.
If you do the repair as you describe with SS guns I’d feel very pleased.
