I dunno. "some flux" wouldn't bother me much. I don't expect or require boards to be spotless (and actually having them conformally coated, which might be considered the next step up in professionalism, would definately be a BAD thing), but I don't expect them to be "messy", either. It sounds like your boards have a LOT of flux; perhaps significantly more than I would leave behind if I soldered them myself. Care to post a picture?