No I used a large gauze from a tea strainer. Worked a treat
Typed this up so might as well post it now.
The bigger the filter the more air can be pulled through the filter due to the "bigger surface area" but that air can still only be pulled through the 35mm inlet diameter. Yes the bigger the filter the less restriction, however a meshed turbo has NO restriction as it's sucking straight from the atmosphere (open mouth). An easy test for this would be to turn on your vacuum cleaner with the pipe open, then the pipe covered with a rag. Hear the difference as the restrictive rag puts strain on the motor/turbine.
It sounds awesome when spooling up and gives a cheeky bit of chatter too