A method is disclosed for removing casting defects (5) from an article (1) with an oriented microstructure. The method comprises the steps of locating at least one casting defect (5) and melting the casting defect (5) locally by a heat source (7) to a depth at least as great as the casting defect (5) itself. Subsequently the molten material is solidified epitaxially with respect to the surrounding oriented microstructure of the article (1) in a way that the resulting solidified area is substantially free of any defect.
