From doing flames on motorcycle tanks to the scallops on my Gee Bee, I found using a low heat gun and a slight pull on the curved portion gets it to lay down very well when using automotive pin stripe.

It takes some practice to figure out how much of each to use depending on the radius though. 1/4" tape will be a bit harder to do but it can be done. I've also found that pulling it up and adjusting it after applying it wrong will cause it to lift and/or buckle later on too.