Again, in the rust belt it helps to be proactive. While the stainless hardware doesn't rust, the cast metal underneath the shims (pic below) and the pad ears themselves will rust, "grow in size", and bind up. Like member Rand already posted, the PasteLube product we use is
miraculous in staying put, water
proof, and a thin layer does not gum up much, if any. It keeps my hubs and rotor hats rust free - paper thin layer.
https://goodson.com/collections/brake-lubes/products/bpl-2400-pastelub-brake-lubricant
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