Silicon Carbide has a unique combination of properties that include a nearly diamond-like hardness, intrinsic electrical semiconductivity and a high thermal conductivity. This combination of properties has led to it's use in a number of applications including substrates for Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), power, RF (radio frequency) and other electronic devices in addition to mirror substrates and optical devices as well as stop layers in integrated circuit chip manufacture. In addition, the chemical inertness and high hardness of SiC has historically resulted in low removal rates during chemical mechanical Planarization (CMP). Recent efforts in our labs have led to being able to polish single crystal silicon carbide at removal rates up to 400 nm/hr yielding a root mean squared roughness on the order of a nanometer as determined by AFM and interferometry. The high rates and smoothness obtained are expected to translate to other types of silicon carbide. Fundamental studies by FTIR, streaming potential and ESCA have been done to elucidate the mechanism of silicon carbide polishing.