Wood Cladding

I've seen a bunch of images on here, but never any real descriptions, stats, how-tos.

I've always loved the look of old British wood-clad equipment, and for moving up in scale to something like 1BBL, it's a good cheap option from home-brewer/aspiring pro-brewers.

I'm currently working on a 1ish BBL system with a friend based on 55g stainless drums. We are looking into cladding all the vessels to make it as efficient as possible.

So, the questions...

What size lumber works best?
2x4 seems like it would hold heat very well, but it'd be heavy. Would 1x2 suffice?

I'm assuming softer, less dense material is best, so Pine?

Would adding an under-wrapping of that reflective bubble-wrap insulation help retain heat?

Where can I get straps long enough to clamp the wood to the vessels?

Thanks!