Highly flexible leather-like sheet material and process for producing the same

A process for producing highly flexible leather-like sheet materials, which comprises the steps of:

• (a) forming a sheet-like fibrous aggregate;
• (b) impregnating the fibrous aggregate with a composition liquid comprising a first elastic polymer and then wet coagulating the composition liquid, to form a base layer;
• (c) applying on the surface of the fibrous aggregate a second composition liquid comprising a second elastic polymer and conducting wet coagulation thereof, to form a wet-formed porous intermediate coating layer on the surface of and integrated with the base layer containing the first elastic polymer, said intermediate coating layer having a thickness of 10 to 40 .mu.m and having continuous pores with a maximum pore diameter as observed on the cross-section taken in the thickness direction thereof of 1 to 30 .mu.m;
• (d) applying on a release paper a third composition liquid comprising a solution of a third elastic polymer and, mixed therewith, hot water-extractable fine particles, patching the paper with the liquid on the intermediate coating layer formed above, drying the liquid and peeling off the release paper, to form a dry-formed film;
• (e) treating the thus formed film with hot water to extract off the hot water-extractable fine particles, to convert the film into a dry-formed porous surface coating layer having a thickness of 20 to 80 .mu.m and having continuous pores with a maximum pore diameter as observed on the cross-section taken in the thickness direction thereof of 0.5 to 20 .mu.m;
• and
• (f) applying a softening agent at least to the wet-formed porous intermediate coating layer and the dry-formed porous surface coating layer.