IDK what "thin" is without seeing it/doing it. The way I thin my lacquer or even acrylic, 4 coats would probably work but I've done 5. Sometimes, more often than not, put down wet I just polish it without sanding. Only because I haven't seen many real cars that look like they've been painted up then prepped to enter a custom car show.But the trend today is for every modeler to do or to have their build represent just that. Just sayin ( ya it's my own thing I have going on)...
Ya know we all paint differently too. To me a single coat is really a double coat or two passes over everything, for instance down the side and back again etc.....