Minimum bend radius is a per product number
Radius limits vary with tape construction: width, copper thickness, COB or discrete emitters, silicone coating, and conductor count all change what it takes. No single number applies across products, and a figure for one reel is not evidence about another.
Check the published radius for the item you bought and treat it as a limit, not a target. Measure the radius you need with a string pinned at the curve's center, then hold a bare offcut against the shape. One project can want one strip on a gentle curve and another approach on a tight one, so compare specifications in the LED strip light collection.
Inside curves, outside curves, and columns
An outside curve, like a round column, holds the strip along its outer surface; an inside curve, such as a cove sweep or curved reveal, wraps the other way. Both stay within the strip's one flexible axis and need continuous support rather than a fixing every few feet, because tape spanning a chord bridges and lifts.
Columns carry an extra trap: a run spiraling up one twists rather than bends, and fails at the joints. Wrap horizontal bands, or step vertical lengths around the circumference.
Faceting a radius that is too tight
Tighter than the published limit, break the curve into short straight runs: cut each piece on its marked points, mount them end to end around the arc, and bridge the gaps with short wire so the light follows a shape the tape will not. The eye reads a chain of facets as a curve once a diffuser sits in front.
Take the power off first, and hand any hardwired driver, junction box, or wall dimmer to a licensed electrician working to local code, the NEC where it applies, and the manufacturer instructions. Cut only at the designated points, since the interval is set by the product and cutting between them kills that segment (verify the marking on the tape before the first cut). Some products are built for finer division, and a cut-anywhere design such as the EnoLED MaxCut COB strip gives more latitude in where the facets land.
For the jumps, a lead-and-clamp arrangement such as the LEDClub solderless strip to wire connector with a 72 inch lead sets the gap and keeps the wire behind the profile. Soldering works too, and on some products it is what the manufacturer expects. Watch polarity, hold the facets at the same voltage as the rest of the run, and wire sections back to the supply in parallel rather than series. Our guide to turning a corner with LED strip applies the same technique to a sharp angle.
Holding the strip to a curved surface
Adhesive backing is under constant peel load on a curve, since the tape is always trying to return to straight. Support it continuously, add clips at intervals, or use a profile designed to follow a bend, so the backing is not what holds the run in shape.
Bendable profiles give the diffusion and finished edge of a rigid channel while following the arc, and aluminum housings help dissipate heat, though a channel is never mandatory and reduces without guaranteeing dot removal. Not every extrusion takes a curve (verify what the profile permits before you plan around it).
