I know what you mean,this looks like lots of coating. What I'm doing now is just a result from experimenting. It could be all wrong but the thin mixture gets really sucked in by the porous HCL washed surface. No more flaking even after many coats.
So:
I use Hi-Tek powder as per instructions , 20 grams / 100 ml acetone. But I add about 30-40 ml denatured alcohol to the mix. This way I get a very thin but even coat almost all over the bullet. I can swirl without rushing it, my bullets are wet when I dump then on a mesh tray.
Here it is after the swirl,dried,waiting for the first bake:
Attachment 225146
The following coats can be thicker if wanted. I have many bottles with different colours and ratios. Most importantly, I shoot these 1700 fps with a factory rough Marlin without leading. No GC or anything...I still don't really understand this but I like it!