Surveys the raw material and it's a mess (7)
I believe the answer is:
eyesore
'it's a mess' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'surveys the raw material' is the wordplay.
'surveys' becomes 'eyes' (I've seen this in another clue).
'the raw material' becomes 'ore' (I've seen this before).
'eyes'+'ore'='EYESORE'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for eyesore that I've seen before include "Ugly building" , "Blemish" , "Ugly sight, not nice to see" , "Something ugly to look at" , "Ugly structure" .)