I recently moved to Knoxcville, TN from Las Vegas, NV. I purchased a home that has some type of siding that appears to be a composition of pressed paper or abestos. It has the appearance of boards but the bottom 2 "planks" on one side of the house have paint coming off along bottom edge. There seems to be a few inches along the length of the bottom 'board' that is deteriorating but is so slight that 'plank' should not need replacing. I would like to repair is so that I can paint it before winter. There is no bubbling just loss of paint and approx. 1/16 to 3/8ths inch deteriorated. I need to know what to use to reform the edge cosmetically. This side of house is over a walkway and I believe rain splash has caused the problem as it is no where else on the house.

If I could ascertain what type of material it is I would know how to proceed...

Thanks RonDove
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Sounds like pressed fiber siding.

To fix this you might cut the bad area off,all the way down the side of the house,use a chalk line and circular saw.

Try to find some metal flashing to stop the dripping water from damaging the wood sill and stud bases.

A siding contractor would be able to bend the metal,or possibly the local roofing supply store might have some kind of base edging,easily fit under the siding and nailed in place.

This would only be for the base course.

The subsequent courses are not so easily remedied,I have seen this type of damage on older siding like you described,painting just seems to look less than desirable and the paint will peal off in a short time due to the type of material the siding was made of.

Can you remove any pieces from somewhere else on the house and replace the higher courses with them?Say in an inside area,then replace that area with a new siding?

Out of ideas right now, maybe someone else will have an idea.

Try Bondo body filler from automotive store. It may adhere or it may not. If not try a fiberglass repair kit.