I typically use a 50wt Aurifil with the needles I have on hand -- typically size 10 John James Gold'n Glide Milliners, or sometimes their Gold'n Glide Applique needles. I like the Teflon coating. Much easier to push the needle through the fabric. I usually do run the thread through beeswax just to keep it from tangling since I like to use longer pieces of thread.
I've done bindings with quilting needles & with coated hand quilting thread. I find it a bit more difficult to work with the binding using the thicker coated thread, but I've only worked with Americana hand quilting thread on bindings so I can't say for sure if that's the case with all hand quilting threads.