Polished, hot pressed, net shape ceramics

A smooth ceramic made by a process comprising the steps of:

• loading ceramic powder to be densified into a hot press die;
• placing one or more spacers with a polished surface between a hot press punch and the ceramic powder;
• placing the die and punch into a hot press and hot pressing the ceramic powder;
• and
• after hot pressing, removing a smooth ceramic shape that requires no subsequent polishing or processing and has a surface roughness of 5 nm RMS or better.

A method for making a smooth glass, comprising:

• loading glass powder to be densified into a hot press die;
• placing one or more spacers with a polished surface between a hot press punch and the glass powder;
• placing the die and punch into a hot press and hot pressing the glass powder;
• and
• after hot pressing, removing a smooth glass shape that requires no subsequent polishing or processing and has a surface roughness of 5 nm RMS or better.