The strength of glass designs are relying on good surfaces. Complex shapes and small holes calls for new polishing methods. Polishing of glass using fluid jet polishing is well known as a suitable method for acquiring high quality surfaces. In this study the combination of higher pressure and aluminum oxide as polishing material is tested in terms of higher polishing performance. A design of experiment study is done where important process parameters are varied. The results are compared to fluid jet polishing using cerium oxide. The polishing effect on the float glass is evaluated using visual grading and by using optical profilometry. In addition an analysis of sustainability aspects are done comparing the two different polishing materials. It is clearly shown that aluminum oxide is increasing the polishing performance. © 2012 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.