Okay, at the request of the Administrator, I'll disclose the boards.
Unfortunately, I have already cleaned them, so I cannot post any pictures. This is an oversight on my part, but at the time I didn't expect that I would need pics. (I thought it more of a yes/no answer vs. "how much flux")
But first, I must re-iterate that my goal from this thread was to check the community "standard" before I emailed the vendors - It may be that my expectations are abnormal. I've purchased several thousand dollars worth of boards and components from SparkFun and never received any items that contained ANY flux. I'm used to "factory new" looking products - so that is where my expectations come from.
Also, I should note, that all of the items work fine and perform exactly as advertised, and I do not wish a refund. I would just like to see them add an extra bit of "care" to their manufacturing process.
The specific products I'm referring to are the Touch-Shield-Stealth from Liquidware and the Ethernet Shield from Nuelectronics. (Although other "pre-assembled" products that came from these vendors had the same "bonus flux", these two were the worst offenders.)
I really like Liquidware products, and I think the double-wide and double-tall are great products! In fact, I probably could have overlooked the flux on their products entirely, if one of them wasn't their $140 Touch-Shield-Stealth. When I'm paying $140 for a shield, I feel like they should take the time to clean the flux off it. I was also particularly frustrated since removing the flux was very tricky because the LCD is permanently attached to the board, and trying to keep the solvent away from the LCD was very hard.
I also like Nuelectronics products, and really dig their stack-able proto-shield (Awesome design!!), and they function well, and are relatively inexpensive for their functionality. Perhaps they "cut corners" to keep their prices low. Unfortunately, their SMT assembly process may be the cause of my angst - on the Ethernet Shield, all of the SMT components were entombed in solidified Flux. This wasn't merely dots of flux at the solder points, it was gobs of flux all over every SMT component. The thru-hole solders on these boards were normal, and had a normal amount of Flux. But the nasty-look of the SMT parts made the whole board look dingy.
To summarize: I like these companies, I have had no problems with their customer service, I like the product functionality, and I will continue to buy from them. I merely wish they would enhance their product "fit & finish", as isn't up to the standard that many other suppliers provide.
Peace.
(Edited to soften the tone a bit.)