Chrome Tape

Jerry Feigner's 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air, of Wilmington, California. Jerry was a member of the Cut-Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Chevrolet was known as "Lil Honey Bee." In 1958 Mike Clines gave the car a scallop and pintripe paint job in his father's garage in Long Beach. Mike also added the chrome tape to the top of the car.

Johnny Zupan's 1956 Ford F-100 of Hollywood, California. Restyled by Barris Kustoms, the truck featured a scallop paint job by Dean Jeffries. Chrome tape was used to highlight the top of the cab. The build was completed sometime around 1958.

George Mitobe's 1957 Ford Ranchero of Artesia, California. Restyled by Branson's Custom Shop, the car featured a scallop, panel and flame paint job by Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style. Watson added chrome tape on the top and around the windows.

Jerry Landis' 1956 Chevrolet. Restyled sometime prior to 1959, the top was dressed up with chrome tape.

LaVonne Bathke's 1958 Chevrolet Corvette of Lakewood, California. Featuring a custom paint job by Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style, the scoops in the front fenders were enhanced with a panel of chrome tape outlined with white striping. The car was restyled sometime prior to December of 1959.

Floyd De Boer's 1958 Pontiac Bonneville of Bellflower, California. Restyled by Ed Schelhaas' Custom Shop, the car featured a wild custom paint job Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style. The paint scheme was applied on a base of plum and bronze lacquer. The scallops were in brass-gold and a flame pattern was carried on the recessed rear fender panels. Black fogging was also used around the trim to help set it off. Chrome tape was used to dress up the roof. The build was completed circa 1958-1959.

Bob Shelby's 1957 Ford of Long Beach, California. Bob's car was painted in Champagne Mist with contrasting scallops and chrome tape. The top had wide paint stripes running from front to rear with a center overlay of chrome tape. The build was completed sometime prior to 1959.

Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero of Neptune City, New Jersey. Known as "The Ruby Ranch," Browning's Ranchero featured a scallop and flame paint jobs. The roof featured striping made with 1/4 inch chrome tape and 1/2 inch ivory scallops. The build was completed in 1959.

Larry Watson's 1959 Cadillac 62 Series Coupe of Bellflower, California. Restyled in 1959, Larry painted the body in a combination of candy ruby panels over the white pearl lacquer surrounded by white pearl outlines. He applied 1/4 chrome tape over the silver base painted top, covered it with a clear lacquer and rubbed it out so there was no step between the tape and the silver base.

Taking it to the next level. David Ramey's 1949 Plymouth of Bakersfield, California has a chrome tape inspired roof. "We originally planned on chrome tape, but Tommy Herrera stepped it up by doing turned gold leaf." David and Tommy painted the roof in October of 2011, a few days before the 2011 Hot Rod Reunion in Famoso, California. The stripes are 1 inch wide, and Tommy used 1-inch masking tape to get the lines laid down evenly, then pulled up every other row. Photo courtesy of David Ramey.

Dustin Cooper's 1955 DeSoto of Indianapolis, Indiana. Dustin added rows of chrome tape to the roof in 2013, "because I thought it was simple and different and knew it was done back in the day a lot." Dustin made the stripes with 1" wide tape, adding a 3/4" gap in between. Photo courtesy of Dustin Cooper.

Danny Vandergriff's 1957 Chrysler New Yorker of Fort Worth, Texas. Restyled by Danny and his father, the build was started in 2016 and completed in 2019. They dressed the roof up with rows of chrome tape for a late 1950s custom look.

Jeff Myers' 1957 Ford Ranchero of Arkansas City, Kansas. Known as The Jolly Rancher, Myers dressed the Ranchero up with rows of chrome tape on the roof in July of 2019. Photo courtesy of Jeff Myers.

You can easily order automotive grade chrome tape for use on roofs trough Amazon.com. Available Sizes: 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch - 1 inch - 2 inch.

Since the late 1950s rows of chrome tape have been used to dress up the roof of custom cars.

Where to buy automotive grade chrome tape for your roof

Automotive grade chrome tape for use on roofs can be ordered trough Amazon.com.

Available sizes:

• 1/2 inch tape: Check price and avilability.
• 3/4 inch tape: Check price and avilability.
• 1-inch tape: Check price and avilability.
• 2-inch tape: Check price and avilability.

Cars Featuring Chrome Tape on the Roofs

Jerry Feigner's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - Lil Honey Bee
Dustin Cooper's 1955 DeSoto
Jerry Landis' 1956 Chevrolet
Johnny Zupan's 1956 Ford F-100
Bob Shelby's 1957 Ford
George Mitobe's 1957 Ford Ranchero
Jeff Myers' 1957 Ford Ranchero - The Jolly Rancher
Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero - The Ruby Ranch
Floyd De Boer's 1958 Pontiac Bonneville
Larry Watson's 1959 Cadillac 62 Series Coupe
Danny Vandergriff's 1957 Chrysler New Yorker