Are you just blasting away in the open, or are you using a box? If your using a box you can set up a no loss system where you just reuse your media until it wears out. If you have the box you can play with some media that would cost more and get more from it, such as garnet or corundum. Also play with the pressure, you don’t have to go full blast all the time. Doing so will get you different variations on how rough any one media is. As far as masking there are a number of vinyl masks that I have used with some aggressive adhesive so they don’t just blow off. The biggest problem as you have probably found is cutting the stuff just the way you want. With the thinner paper stuff you can send it through a printer…one more thing if you only spray the piece from one angle it will feel different than if you use more than one. Try a couple and you should see what I mean.
One last thing. Use protection! If your not using a box you need a respirator, eye protection, and gloves. with a box probably just gloves.
