Sometimes the caliper itself is what has too thick a coating on it.
Reusing calipers, I clean the rails with a straight file to remove rust, lightly apply silicone paste, put on the stainless shims, light coating of grease on them.
Many pads don't need the ears filed but some do. It is easy enough to see when you try to put them in. It's all about getting enough, but not too much clearance. Whether someone else had to file this or that, is somewhat irrelevant. Just make sure there is no corrosion on the mating part, causing you to file down the wrong part.
Reusing calipers, I clean the rails with a straight file to remove rust, lightly apply silicone paste, put on the stainless shims, light coating of grease on them.
Many pads don't need the ears filed but some do. It is easy enough to see when you try to put them in. It's all about getting enough, but not too much clearance. Whether someone else had to file this or that, is somewhat irrelevant. Just make sure there is no corrosion on the mating part, causing you to file down the wrong part.