desired control of the thickness and composition of a solder coat on the j - leads of an integrated circuit quad package is obtained by orienting the packages while being solder coated in a &# 34 ; leads - up &# 34 ; orientation as a series of strips mounting the packages are passed through a solder wave of a wave soldering apparatus on a pallet . the quad or other shaped integrated circuit or other electronic packages which have leads extending exteriorly thereof , thus have the critical lead crest portions coated with substantially the same solder layer thickness and composition . this permits reliable electrical connections between the crest portions of the leads and printed circuit board metal traces , particularly in surface mounting of the package to a printed circuit board . an additional feature of the invention is a pallet for holding a series of package - holding elongate frames which pallet is used for conveying the packages through the wave soldering apparatus .