There actually was grease on it, but not a ton and I wiped most of it off before taking those pictures. On the replacement wedge assembly I swapped in I applied Aeroshell A LOT more liberally doing my best to keep it out of the torx head. I did a test removal and the results were not that much better, unfortunately. I think it's just a byproduct of the design relying on the screw head to drive the wedge pieces in and out of position. Definitely liberally apply a high pressure grease to the top and bottom of the screw head if you ever plan to remove the rail.