The subsurface damage generated by the polishing of silicon carbide crystals was investigated by measuring dislocation densities in sublimation grown SiC layers and through the use of high-resolution X-ray diffraction. Physical vapor transport growth on silicon carbide seeds, with a typical polishing finish using 1 mum diamond paste, leads to the nucleation of threading edge dislocations of density on the order of 10(7) cm(-2) and threading screw dislocations of density on the order of 10(6) cm(-2). Chemical mechanical polishing lowered the dislocation density by four orders of magnitude for threading screw dislocations and two orders of magnitude for threading edge dislocations. Controlled high temperature hydrogen etching was used to determine the depth of damage produced by mechanical polishing and it was found to be 700 +/- 300 Angstrom. Diffuse scattering from mechanically polished, chemical mechanically polished, and hydrogen etched SiC crystals were quantified by triple axis high-resolution X-ray diffraction. A consistent trend of decreasing diffuse scattering intensity was observed in mechanically polished, chemical mechanically polished, and hydrogen etched surfaces. Root mean squared (rms) roughness measurements of the surface finishes, obtained with atomic force microscopy, were in agreement with the high-resolution X-ray diffraction results. The mechanically polished surfaces had an rms roughness that was two to three times larger than the chemical mechanically polished surfaces.