ok so i just finished soldering my first 4in1 esc and honestly it looks pretty rough. the solder joints are kinda lumpy and one of them has a tiny bit of flux residue i couldnt get off. also i think i held the iron on the motor pad too long cause the wire insulation melted back a little bit

tested continuity and everything seems fine but im paranoid im gonna fry something when i power it up. should i redo the whole thing or does this sound normal for a first timer

honestly sounds pretty normal for first time lol. as long as continuity is good and no shorts you're probably fine. the flux residue wont hurt anything and melted insulation happens to everyone. just make sure none of the bare wire is touching where it shouldnt be. you can always add some heat shrink over sketchy looking joints if you're worried

Post some pics if you can, but what you described doesn't sound too bad. I've seen way worse builds that fly perfectly fine. The main thing is no cold solder joints and no shorts between pads. If your multimeter says its good then send it, worst case you let out some magic smoke and learn something new