A method for correcting surface and near surface defects in metal
components in which the component is first inspected to identify both the
site and size of a component defect. Thereafter, it is determined if the
defect is correctable by friction stir processing and, if so, the defect
is corrected by performing friction stir processing on the component at
the site of the defect. Optionally, one of several different sized
friction stir processing tools is selected as a function of the size of
the defect.