The effect of hydrogen etching of 6H-SiC Si(0001) on-axis SiC seed surfaces prior to crystal growth has been investigated and found to reduce micropipe defect densities in the resulting crystal boules by an average of 24.5 +/- 19.4%. Etching was conducted in a CVD reactor at 1600degreesC for 30 minutes to reduce seed crystal surface and subsurface damage. Boule growth was then conducted in an inductively heated PVT furnace. The boule was then sliced into wafers and the micropipe density measured using differential interference optical microscopy as a function of seed preparation.