A chemical vapor deposition process for laying down an aluminum oxide coating on a glass substrate through the use of an organic ester having a .beta. hydrogen on the alkyl group bonded to the carboxylate oxygen and an inorganic aluminum halide. The resulting article has an aluminum oxide coating which can be of substantial thickness because of the high deposition rates attainable with the novel process. Preferably, the coating deposition rates resulting from the method of the present invention may be greater than or equal to 200 .ANG. per second.