Abstract: The present invention refers to a method for repairing a component, in particular a component of an internal combustion engine, by heat treating, in particular tempering. The method comprises a step of obtaining a material specific reference parameter which has been determined based on at least one reference test carried out on a reference sample made of the same material as the component to be heat treated, wherein the reference parameter is indicative of a desired heat treating effect on the material of the component to be heat treated; a step of determining at least one of a heating temperature and heating duration in dependence on the obtained reference parameter; and a step of heat treating the component in accordance with at least one of the determined heating temperature and determined heating duration.