Renewing a thermal barrier coating system

A method for renewing a thermal barrier coating (TBC) system on an article surface, the TBC system comprising a metallic bond coat on the article surface and an outer ceramic TBC, comprising the steps of:

• removing the outer ceramic TBC to expose a bond coat substrate;
• selecting from a thermal pattern, unique to the article surface from service operation, at least one discrete local surface area of the article surface subject to bond coat degradation during service operation;
• applying to the exposed bond coat substrate at least at the discrete local surface area at least one renewal metal selected from the group consisting of Pt, Rh, and Pd;
• heating the renewal metal at a temperature and for a time sufficient to diffuse the renewal metal into the bond coat substrate;
• applying an environmental resistant coating selected from the group consisting of aluminides and alloys including aluminum to at least the discrete local surface area over the renewal metal;
• and then,
• applying an outer ceramic TBC to the article surface.