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Probably one of the cheapest ways to see surface detail, when there IS eventually any to see, is to use a Coronado "PST". These have an Ha filter system and will allow you to see flares on the edge of the disk, spots on the surface and even some other events. However, they cost around the $800 mark.
A solar filter at the moment will show nothing more than a blank disk until the activity picks a bit...later in the year. If you look at the solar disk on the side of the IIS site, this is about what you will see. Different filters will give a different coloured disk, but that is about it.
When the activity really picks up, say in a year or two, you could get a special pair of solar glasses (usually used for eclipses) which may allow you to see the biggest spots with the (semi) naked eye.
Coronado also make special solar binoculars which are designed for looking at the Sun, they are also not cheap but are another alternative.
There are also a number of other companies that have just started to sell Ha solar scopes, so you may want to have a look at some of the astro distributor sites for information.
If you have a simple refractor, you can use solar projection onto a piece of white paper which will show sunspots, however, I would not use an expensive scope to do this and the heat buildup inside the lenses may cause severe damage to them. I used my >30 year old 60mm Tasco refractor to watch the transit of Mercury recently and it performed quite well.
As everyone has said, and I will repeat, never use a scope without the proper filter. NEVER use a filter that goes over the eyepiece, only use filters that go over the front of the scope (full aperture).
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