Abstract: A method for extending the secondary creep life of an alloy part which had previously been subjected to a solution heat treatment at a high temperature and to a subsequent precipitation hardening heat treatment at a lower temperature, the method being characterized by subjecting the part, after it has experienced significant secondary creep but before tertiary creep has set in, to a recuperative heat treatment at a temperature substantially below the solution heat treatment temperature, and preferably above the precipitation hardening heat treatment temperature, while the part is unstressed.